m<**. ..SR. 3 
.^.^ .M4.5-. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 




IFULaTHM LUT TILER 
as PaTaidhMs 



3?4. 



THE 



LIFE 



O F 



MARTIN LUTHER: 



JUlatelr from Original ^lutljoritus 



WITH 16 ENGRAVINGS. 



BY MORITZ MEURER 



TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN, 

BY A PASTOR OF THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH 



7^> 



NEW-YORK: 

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AND THE BOOKSELLERS GENERALLY THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. 



1848. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1848, by 
H. LUDWIG & CO 
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 
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X^tA 




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TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 



The want of a more purely objective history of Luther in the 
English language has thus far been severely felt. In most, if 
not all, of the works, and in the most widely circulated of 
them, which furnish an account of Luther, the subjectivity of 
the authors is found to influence the character of their works 
in such a way, as to render these more or less partial, in some 
cases even chargeable with direct falsification. It would not 
prejudice the cause, which the present work is designed to ad- 
A r ocate, if these assertions were shown not to be based upon 
truth. And any evidence, demonstrative of their falsity, would 
have been most welcome, and would have obviated the neces- 
sity of the present attempt to meet the wants referred to. The 
work here offered to the reader is purely objective in its cha- 
racter, and the historical authorities are permitted to speak for 
themselves without any wresting or distortion of their state- 
ments by the author. The candid reader is therefore enabled 
to form an unbiassed judgment. 

In the translation it was proposed to preserve as much of tht 
style, manner of expression, and antique colouring of the origi 
nal, as was consistent with rendering the work into popular 
English. How very far any attempt of this kind must fall 
short of success, can be properly understood only by those who 
know what insuperable obstacles and difficulties meet the 
translator at almost every step of his progress. There will, of 
necessity, be many deviations from the course marked out, and 
there will also always be many which necessity does not re- 
quire. The sense, however, it is trusted, has, in all cases, been 
faithfully given. 

It is proper to state here, that the correction of the proofs, 
the preparation of the author's preface, of the contents in the 
beginning, and of the indexes at the end of the work, were ex- 
ecuted by another hand. 

May the God of truth prosper His cause, for the promotion 
of which a sense of duty caused the present work to be under- 
taken. 

THE TRANSLATOR. 

May 30th, 1848. 

3 



PREFACE. 

It is a well known fact, that even the best Preface will not secure a book 
against evil reports and calumny ; therefore the compiler renounces all inten- 
tion of seeking to convince those of its merits who look for the ideal of histo- 
rical science in an over-wise officiousness ; or such as have had their tastes 
vitiated by the deceptive arts of modern writers, (who prefer to give their own 
vagaries instead of letting history tell its own story, and who do not believe 
that any work can be instructive or profitable, unless it is tinctured with their 
own reasoning and arguments.) 

###*#*# 

The chief merit of this work consists in this, that all self-babbling has been 
totally omitted. It presents the history of Luther exclusively from authentic 
sources, and indeed in his own language or that of his cotemporaries . The 
compiler has, therefore, abstained from making any addition of his own : he 
has studied his authorities carefully, and has examined, compared and com- 
piled with the utmost watchfulness. It is natural, that it was necessary often 
to abbreviate and condense, — that the speech should sometimes be changed 
from the direct to the indirect, — or that some other turn should be made ; — it 
was also necessary sometimes to unite two reports into one ; but a material 
alteration the compiler has as little allowed himself as a material addition. 
His entire additions confine themselves to the connection of the various autho- 
rities, the borrowed passages, &c, so that they may be compared to the string 
upon which the pearls are strung, or the mortar which binds the building- 
stones of a house. Whoever will take the trouble to compare the authorities 
cited at the close of each chapter, will find this assertion verified. 

This mode of representation necessarily has its defects : it is natural that 
the language will not be as fluent and smooth as if it had come from a single 
pen. But if the work has otherwise succeeded, — the gain for the reader will 
be greater than the loss. Here he has a Luther as he actually presented him- 
self, and as he appeared to those who surrounded him ; — no ideal, and no cari- 
cature. It is true, that the reader must form his own judgment, but the mate- 
rial has been laid before him in all candour ; and as regards the language, — 
the freshness, originality and variety of the same, will compensate him for the 
lack of smoothness and symmetry. 

Accordingly it is evident, that this History of Luther stands diametrically 
in opposition to those histories which represent him " in the light of our 
times" or dress him in this or that garment, according to the peculiar plan 
that may, perchance, be followed. 

As regards the selection, made from the rich treasury which stands at the 
command of a biographer of Luther, the compiler does not expect to have 
satisfied all, nor that he has always hit upon the right. But he must also, in 
this respect, for the understanding ef some, remind, wherein his work differs, 
if not from all, still from many of its equals. 

While in many biographies of Luther the whole history of the Reformation 
is embodied in extracts, so, on the contrary, the compiler has strictly kept in 

5 



vi. 



PREFACE. 



view, that he only intended to write a Life of Luther ; he has therefore only 
so far touched upon the scenes of the Reformation as Luther was therein a 
participator. Thus giving in these narrow limits an unequally greater 
amount of details than are generally to be found in most other biographies of 
Luther. 

The compiler has directed his particular attention to Luther's Works: 
whatever was found in any manner of importance, has at least received notice 
according to its contents ; of the more important, copious extracts, or at any 
rate, specimens have been given. A particular Index at the close of the vol- 
ume gives information upon this point. The compiler hopes, that his work in 
this manner will serve as a guide to those who are unacquainted with Luther's 
Works. 

The reader will look in vain for many of the current anecdotes which are 
to be found in all biographies. The reason of this is, that many fictitious 
tales have crept into the histories of Luther. Whatever seemed unwarranted 
or as not harmonizing with other authentic reports, or that which appeared 
doubtful, the compiler has omitted. The reader can, therefore, more safely 
rely upon that which has been stated ; for wherever there still existed an ob- 
scurity or an unsolved contradiction, he has directed the attention to it in the 
• notes. 

The compiler has not disdained to describe, even in the minutest details, 
many less important scenes in the life of Luther, whenever the authorities 
gave him an opportunity to do so, in the hope that such pictures of life would 
enhance the intuitive contemplation of the whole. To this class belong his 
interview with the two Swiss, in the hotel of the Bear, in Jena, several of 
his sick-bed arid travelling stories, &c. &c. 

The last days of Luther, his death and burial, have, perhaps, in proportion 
to the whole, been portrayed with too much exactness : this would probably 
not have happened, if the completion of the work had not taken place at the 
same time that the commemoration of the third centennial celebration of 
Luther's death was solemnized. This demanded some notice. 

It may also not be amiss to remark here, that whenever the compiler could 
get access to the authorities in the Latin original, he never satisfied himself 
with the translations already at hand, but has translated independently, and 
diligently exerted himself to hit the antiquated colouring of the language. 

Often enough he may not have succeeded, but frequently he has had the 
satisfaction, that connoisseurs have mistaken the translation for the original. 

In order to be able to find any desired portion of the history, there has been 
appended to each part an Index and Chronological Table, arid a double Index 
lias also been supplied at the end of the volume. 

####### 

At the tomb of Luther, then, let this work be dedicated, not to bring him 
laurels, which he never desired, but to preserve the memory of this exalted 
teacher in our minds, who has taught us the Word of God as no other has 
done. Let others make a vain pageant with his name and deeds : it is our 
duty, ye sons and daughters of the Church, to behold his end and to imitate 
him in his faith. 

THE COMPILER. 

Callenberg, Saxony, January, 1846. 



CONTENTS. 



PART I.— Luther's Youth.— From his birth to his entrance 
into the Augustinian Cloister at Erfurt, 1483-1505. 

Page. 

Chap. I. — Luther's Parents, Birth and Childhood, 11 

II.— Luther at School, 13 

III. — Luther studies at Erfurt, 14 

IV. — Luther enters the Cloister, 16 

PART II. — Life in the Cloister. — From Luther's entrance into 
the Cloister to his first testimony against Indulgences, 1505- 
1517. «. " ~ 

Chap. I. — Luther's labours in the Cloister and consecration as Priest, . .21 
II. — What inward trials Luther had in the Cloister, and how he was 

comforted, . . . . . . . . . .23 

III. — Luther is called to Wittenberg — teaches and preaches there, . 27 

IV. — Luther's journey to Rome, and what he learnt there, . . .30 

V. — Luther created Doctor of the Holy Scriptures, . . . .32 
VI. — Luther contends against the Theology of the Schools, . . .35 

VII. — Luther's visitation of the Cloisters and other labours, in the years 

1516 and 1517, .40 

VIII. — Luther is grieved at the shameful proceedings of the venders of 

Indulgences, . ._ 43 

PART III.— The time of the first Testimony.— From the ap- 
pearance of the 95 Theses to his imprisonment in the Wart- 
burg.— From Oct. 31, 1517, to May 4, 1521. 

Chap. L— The 95 Theses, ... 49 

II. — The reception of the 95 Theses, 61 

III. — Journey to Heidelberg, 64 

IV. — Defence of the 95 Theses, . . . . . . . .67 

V. — Citation to Rome, and hearing before Cajetan, . . . .80 

VI. — Difficulties and progress in consequence of the Augsburg transac- 

tions, . . 96 

VII. — Beginning of the negotiations with Miltitz, . . . .103 

VIII. — The Discussion at Leipzig, Ill 

IX. — New Foes and new Friends, new Contests and fresh Courage, . 123 

X. — Concerning several writings of Luther's, which pleased him better 

than his controversial writings, 153 

XI. — The last attempt at reconciliation with the Pope, . . .166 
XII.— The Papal Bull, and the burning of it, 172 

XIII. — Citation and Journey to Worms, 183 

XIV. — Luther at the Diet 193 

XV.- departure from Worms, and Imprisonment, .... 208 

vii. 



viii. 



CONTENTS. 



PART IV.— The Struggles of the Reformation.— From the 

abode at the Wartburg to the close of the Diet of Augsburg. — 
From May 4, 1521, to October, 1530. 

Page. 

Chap. I. — Luther in his Patmos, ........ 213 

II.— Return to Wittenberg, 228 

III. — Labours and Contests in the year 1522, 257 

IV. — Contests, Suffering and Sympathy.— 1523 and 1524, . . .277 

V. — Fresh Storms.— 1524 and 1525, ... ... 293 

VI. — Luther's Marriage, 317 

VII.— Contests and Building-up.— 1525 and 1526, . . . .323 

VIII. — A year of Suffering— 1527, 333 

IX. — The Work of Visitation and the Catechisms, .... 346 
X. — The Dispute concerning the Sacrament, and the Marburg Confer- 
ence, 354 

XI. — Concerning several transactions which preceded th© Diet of Augs- 
burg, and Luther's connection with them, .... 370 
XII. — Luther at Coburg during the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, . . 383 

PART T.— Labours of the Reformation.— From the conclu- 
sion of the Diet of Augsburg to the Schmalkald Convention. 
From Oct. 1530, to the 14th March, 1537. 

Chap. I.— Councils for Peace. 1531-32, 419 

II. — Affliction on account of others and in his own person. 1531-33, . 436 

III. — How Luther sings — teaches to pray, and preaches. 1533-34, . 458 

IV. — The translation of the Bible completed. 1534, . . . .479 

V. — Luther and Vergerius, or the Negotiations concerning the Council. 

1535, 487 

VI. — The Dispute concerning the Sacrament, and the Wittenberg 

Union. 1536, 495 

VII. — The Convention at Schmalkalden, and the Schmalkald Articles. 

1537, 506 

PART VI.— The Last Years of Luther's Life.— From the re- 

turn from Schmalkalden to his death. — From March, 1537, to 
the 17th February, 1546. 

Chap. L— The Antinomians. 1537 and '38, .... . 529 

II.— The Leipzig Whitsuntide Festival. 1539, . . . .545 

III. — Luther in the Family Circle and at the Table, . . . .561 

IV. — The Last Labours, 583 

V. — The Last Negotiations, 591 

VI.— The Last Polemical Writings, . . . ' . . . .610 

VII.— Grief in his Old Age. Preparation for Death, . . . .628 
VIII.— The last days of Luther's Life, his Death and Burial, . . .637 



Alphabetical Index of Subjects, 685 

Index of the Works of Luther mentioned in this volume, . . . .691 



PART L 



LUTHER'S YOUTH. 

FROM HIS BIRTH TO HIS ENTRANCE INTO THE CLOISTER OF THE 
AUGUSTINES AT ERFURT, 1483-1505. 



9 



CONTENTS OF PART I. 



Born at Eisleben of poor parents, brought up at Mansfeld, under strict discipline, as 
pupil at Magdeburg struggling against want, Martin Luther learns to bear the yoke 
in his youth. At the university of Erfurt God adds inward trials (tentatio) to his dili- 
gence in prayer and study, (oratio et meditatio,) in order thus to make of the pious 
young man, not a jurist but a true divine (thcologum). But both from himself as 
well as from his friends God's design with him is yet concealed ; in the anguish of 
his terrified conscience, he, yet wholly ignorant of the gospel way of salvation, sud- 
denly, and in opposition to the wishes of his father, enters the cloister. 



CHRONOLOGICAL SYNOPSIS. 



1483, Nov. 10. Luther is born at Eisleben, Chap. 1 

(?)1484. Luther removes to Mansfeld with his parents, " 1 

1497. frequents the school at Magdeburg, - - " 2 

1498. frequents the school at Eisenach, " 2 

1501. enters the university of Erfurt, ----- " 3 

1503. receives the degree of bachelor of arts, - " 3 

1503. is taken ill and comforted, ------- 3 

1505. recoives the degree of master of arts, - " 4 

1505. enters the cloister, "4 



10 



CHAPTER I. 

luther's parents — his birth and childhood. 

On St. Martin's eve, it being the 10th day of November of the 
year of Christ our Saviour 1483, 1 there was born to John Luther, 
by profession a miner, 2 and to Margaret, his wife, their son s 
Martin Luther. 3 But the place of his nativity was Eisleben* 
a town subject to the Counts of Mansfeld, and situate near the 
Harz Mountain. Now being, on the day after his birth, 
brought to the church of St. Peter, he was there baptized, ac- 
cording to the institution of Christ, in the name of the Holy 
Trinity, and named Martin. 

From Eisleben Martin's parents removed to Mansfeld. Here 
his father was chosen a member of the town council, and was 
highly esteemed by all honest men for his uprightness. Martin's 
mother, whose maiden name was Lindemann, was possessed 
of many of those virtues that adorn the character of an honour- 
able woman. She was especially distinguished for the pro- 
priety of her deportment, her piety and diligence in prayer, so 
that the other worthy matrons of the place regarded her ex- 
ample as one deserving of imitation. 

Luther's parents, at first, lived in very straitened circum- 
stances, his father being a poor miner, and his mother often 
employing herself in carrying wood on her back in order to 
procure a subsistence for the family ; but a kind and bountiful 
God subsequently blessed the father's labours, so that he be- 
came the owner of two furnaces at Mansfeld. Their son 
Martin they trained up in the fear of God, and, by means of 
their family discipline, faithfully habituated him to the per- 
formance of every good work. They, however, were very 

11 



12 



Luther's youth. 



severe with him, so that he, in consequence, grew exceedingly 
timid. He himself says : " My father once scourged me so 
severely, that I conceived for him great aversion and dislike, 
till he again gained me to himself. My mother, at another 
time, because of an insignificant nut, beat me till the blood 
flowed : and the austere and stern life which she led, was the 
cause of my afterwards entering the cloister and becoming a 
monk. They, nevertheless, meant it perfectly well, but were 
not able, as regards dispositions, to observe the distinction, ac- 
cording to which punishment must be meted out. For punish- 
ment must be conducted so, that the apple may be with the 
rod." 

When the capacities of the boy were sufficiently developed, 
his faithful parents took care to have him learn something, 
and accordingly sent him to the Latin school, 5 where he dili- 
gently and speedily learned the Ten Commandments, the Chil- 
dren's Creed, the Lord's Prayer, besides his Donatus, or Latin 
grammar for beginners, his Cisio Janus, (an almanac,) and 
Christian Hymns. 

Authorities. — M. John Mathesius, (minister of the gospel at St. 
Joachimsthal, and formerly resident in the family of Luther,) Leben Lu- 
thers, (in sermons), first printed in 1565, Serm. 1. M. Phil. Melanch- 
thon, Vita Martini Lutheri, (according to the edition of Heumann Gotting, 
1746,) p. 3-5. Luther's Tischgesprache, edition of Stangwald, 1700, 
fol. 673, a and b. 

Notes. — 1.) Luther's mother, whom Melanchthon (p. 4,) repeatedly 
questioned on the subject, distinctly remembers the day, was not certain, 
however, as to the year ; but his brother Jacob stated, that they had always 
in the family regarded the year 1483 as that of his brother's birth. Luther 
himself regarded it so ; for in a Hebrew psalter, preserved in the 
council library at Dantzig, he has written : " Anno 1483 natus ego." 

2.) Not originally, however; Luther himself writes : " I am the son of 
a farmer. My father, grandfather and great-grandfather, all were far- 
mers. Subsequently my father removed to Mansfeld, and there was en- 
gaged in mining." (Hall. ed. vol. 22, p. 2264.) 

.3.) In older records the name is likewise found written Luder, Liider, 
Luter. Luther. At first Luther himself wrote it in different ways ; some- 
times too he played upon the word, often, in the beginning of the Re- 
formation, writing : Mart. E-leutherius, once M. Luther, Christi lutum. 
The derivation of the name he gives in his " Namensbuchlein." (Hall, 
ed. of his works, vol. 16, p. 1284.) 

4.) It afforded Luther pleasure to think of the place of his birth, and 
he was often heard to remark: " Hrcc est Islebia ! There is life!" 
What the occasion was of his parents removing to this place from Mora, 
is not known. The account derived from M. Nicholas Rebhan (sup. at 



luther's youth. 



Eisenach, in the beginning of the 17th cent.), and first found in Secken- 
dorf, (Historia Lutheranismi, p. 20, Add. I.), namely : that Luther's 
parents had gone from Mora to Eisleben, on the occasion of an annual 
fair, and that the pregnant mother was here unexpectedly confined, 
improbable already in itself, is sufficiently disproved by the statement, 
that Eisleben never had a fair in the beginning of November. 

5.) Conrad Schliisselberg, in his Oratio de Vita Lutheri, says : that he 
had often heard from Luther's relatives at Mansfeld, how his father fre- 
quently had, before the bed of the child, aloud and fervently prayed God, to 
grant this his son grace, that, being mindful too of his own name, 
(" Luther v signifies " pure," Seckendorf, German, by Elias Frick, 
p. 48), he might be instrumental in advancing pure doctrine; how he 
further, as a friend of godliness and the sciences, and because of his son, 
had cultivated the society of the ministers of God's Word, of school- 
teachers and others. 



CHAPTER II. 

LUTHER AT SCHOOL. 

The Saxon Latin schools of that day were of quite a respect- 
able character. Martin, therefore, being now in his fourteenth 
year, was sent to Magdeburg, where he attended the school of 
the Null-brethren, (that is, the Franciscans). John Reineck, 1 
who, afterwards too, always remained a faithful friend of his, 
accompanied him and entered the school at the same time. At 
this place Martin too went around begging his bread and cry- 
ing his " panem propter Deum." In after years he himself re- 
marked : " I would not have those lads despised that stand at 
the doors, saying their panem propter Deum, and singing their 
bread-song. I too was such a fragment-gatherer, 2 and obtain- 
ed my bread at the doors of the houses, especially in my dear 
town of Eisenach." For to the latter place the boy had be- 
taken himself, after he had been only one year at Magdeburg ; 
his parents consenting to the change and desiring it, as it 
would place him among his mother's relatives, who resided in 
that town. Having here too for a time obtained his bread by 
singing at the doors of the houses, a pious matron 3 at last took 
him to her table, she entertaining for the boy, because of his 
singing and earnest prayer at church, a cordial affection. 

In the school at Eisenach, he, for the space of four years, en- 
joyed the instruction of a teacher, 4 who taught grammar better 
and more ably than was done elsewhere. There too he 
finished his grammatical studies. Being quick of comprehen- 



14 



luther's youth. 



sion and having distinguished talent for eloquence, he soon was 
in the advance of his fellow pupils, excelling them both in oral 
and written exercises, in verse as well as prose. 

Authorities. — Melanch. p. 6. Mathes. 1. Pred. Luth. Works, 
vol. 22, p. 222. 

Notes. — 1.) John Reineck subsequently was overseer of a foundry at 
Mansfeld, and several letters of Luther's are addressed to him. 

2. ) The German is " Partekenhengst," being a nickname given to 
such poor pupils as went around singing before the doors of the houses 
and asking for alms, especially for provisions, (particulse, fragments). 

3. ) She is said to have been the wife or widow of John Schweickard 
Kotta, and daughter of Henry Schellen or Schalken, burgomaster of 
Ilefeld. Compare Uckert, Luther's Leben, vol. 1, p. 64. 

4. ) Most probably the rector John Trebonius. Compare Loscher's 
Reformationsacten, vol. 1, p. 206. 



^ CHAPTER III. 

LUTHER STUDIES AT ERFURT. 

In the year 1501, Luther's parents sent him to the university of 
Erfurt, maintaining him there from the honest proceeds of their 
mine, as he himself with praise relates of his father: "He 
showed me all due love and kindness, maintaining me at the 
university of Erfurt by his strenuous exertions and labours, 
and enabling me thus to become what I am." 

At Erfurt he came in contact with the cavilling dialectics of 
those times, 1 and with his ready powers of perception he 
speedily made himself master of them. As his earnestly-inquisi- 
tive spirit, however, longed for different and more substantial 
food, he privately read most of the ancient Latin authors, the 
works of a Cicero, Virgil, Livius and others. And this he did 
not merely after the manner of schoolboys, on account of the 
words, but for the sake of the instruction which they afford, 
and the mirror of human life which they hold up. This 
caused him more attentively to weigh the sense and the mean- 
ing of these writers, and, being gifted with a faithful and sure 
memory, he always had at his command most of what he had 
read or heard. Yet with all this, and though he was natural- 
ly of a lively and joyous disposition, he notwithstanding every 
morning began his studies with earnest prayer and attendance 
at church; in reference to which too he was accustomed to re- 



Luther's youth. 15 

mark : " By diligently praying, one studies more than half." 
Nor did he ever either doze away or neglect any lesson, but 
sought opportunities to make inquiries of his teachers, respect- 
fully conversing with them; often, too, reviewing with his 
chamber-fellow 2 what had been learned ; and whenever there 
were no public lectures, he could always be found in the uni- 
versity library. 

Thus it happened that, on one occasion, as he was engaged 
in examining the books one after another, in order to inform 
himself of those that were valuable, that he met with the Latin 
Bible, a copy of which book, though he was then in his twen- 
tieth year, he had never seen before ! With great astonish- 
ment he now perceived, that there were many more texts, 
epistles and gospels contained in it, than were usually explain- 
ed in the ordinary postils or in the churches from the pulpits. 
Then carefully turning over the leaves, he came to where in 
the Old Testament the account of Samuel and his mother Han- 
nah is given ; eagerly perusing this with heartfelt pleasure and 
joy, and finding it all to be new to him, he began most ear- 
nestly to wish that a faithful God would one day likewise 
make him the owner of such a book ! 

Shortly after this he was taken severely and dangerously 
ill, so that he began wholly to despair of his life. But he was 
visited by an aged priest who comforted him and said : " My 
baccalaureus, 3 do not despair, you will not die of this illness, 
our God will yet make a great man of you, and you shall com- 
fort many people. For God early permits those whom he loves 
and whom he wishes to use for great and good purposes, to 
bear the holy cross ; and those, that in this school of trial pa- 
tiently submit, learn much." 

It was at this time too, (about 1503,) that another misfortune 
befell him. On the 3d Easter holyday) he was on his way to 
his parents. As he was journeying along, he accidently struck 
his foot against his sword, which flew out of its scabbard, and 
wounding him severely, severed one of the larger blood-vessels. 
He was about half a (German) mile from Erfurt, having with 
him but a single companion. The blood gushed forth at a fear- 
ful rate and could not be checked. He therefore placed him- 
self on his back, at the same time raising up his leg and press- 
ing his finger against the wound. But now the leg began to 
swell up excessively. At length a surgeon arrived from town 
and bandaged the wound. But Luther, in view of death, cried : 



16 luther's youth. 

" Mary, help ! " And when during the night the wound opened 
and he fainted away, he again called only upon Mary. " At 
that time," said he, afterwards, " I would have died in full re- 
liance on Mary ! " 

Authorities. — Mathes. 1. Pred. Luther's Works, vol. 22, p. 222. 
Melanch., p. 6, sq. Colloquia L — i, Msta., in Dr. Martin Luther's Rei- 
segeschichte by Lingke., Leipzig, 1769, p. 12. (See further, Uckert, 
P- «•) 

Notes. — 1.) Particularly celebrated among his teachers was M. Io- 
docus Truttvetter, whom Luther highly revered, and during whose rector- 
ate he was inscribed in the records as : Martinus Ludher ex Mansfeld. 

2. ) Uckert, (on the authority of Unschuld, Nachrichten, vol. 20, 
p. 568,) without giving further particulars, calls the subsequent pastor at 
Nordhausen, Laurentius Suss, Luther's chamber-fellow. The truth of his 
having been this, however, remains very questionable. But this Suss 
was without doubt a fellow inmate of the cloister at Erfurt. 

3. ) The degree of bachelor, Luther (according to Motschmann Er- 
fordia litterata, p. 698,) had received in the year 1503. 



CHAPTER IV. 

/ 

LUTHER ENTERS THE CLOISTER. 

In the year 1505, Luther, whose genius began to excite the ad- 
miration of the whole university, obtained the degree of 
master of arts, and, in accordance with the advice of his rela- 
tives, who meant to cultivate his extraordinary talents for 
public life and the service of the state, he now applied himself 
to the study of law. 

But not long after this, 1 he, contrary to the expectation of 
his parents and relatives, all of a sudden entered the cloister qj 
the Augustines at Erfurt. The reason why he chose this mode 
of life, which he regarded as the one most favourable for 
growth in piety and the acquisition of divine knowledge, was 
this : he had repeatedly already, on more earnestly consider- 
ing the wrath and severe judgments of God, been suddenly 
seized with such terror, as nearly to expire under the influence 
of it. Melanchthon himself was witness how, even in after- 
life, during a conversation on a doctrinal point, he became so 
lost in thought and grew so dispirited, that he cast himself up- 
on a bed in a chamber near by, and again and again in his 
prayer, repeated to himself the words : *' He has concluded all 



» 



LUTHER S YOUTH. 17 

under sin that he might have mercy upon all." These terrors 
of conscience he experienced first, or at least most intensely, at 
the time when an intimate friend of his was assassinated, and 
a heavy gust and fearful clap of thunder so greatly terrified 
him, that he fell prostrate on the ground and made a vow to 
enter into a cloister, there to serve and to appease God by say- 
ing mass, hoping thus to earn eternal salvation by means of 
monastic holiness. 2 It was not deliberately or willingly, there- 
fore, that he became a monk, but, as he himself states, being of 
a sudden encompassed with the terrors of death, he made a re- 
luctant and forced vow. 

To carry out his intention, he secretly one evening, after a 
repast to which he had invited his countrymen and friends, 
suddenly entered the cloister, and on the following day sent 
letters to his parents and friends, informing them of the step he 
had taken. It grieved them even to tears, that a genius of so 
high an order should be buried alive in the cloister. His fel- 
low students and friends accordingly beset and literally besieged 
the cloister for two days, in the hope of regaining Luther ; but 
the doors were locked and bolted ; and for a whole month no 
one was permitted to come to him. His father returned a 
written reply to his letter, and addressed him with " Du," (thou) 
whilst before, because of his being magister, he had addressed 
him with "Ihr," (you) ; he besides declared to him his with- 
drawal of all favour and paternal good-will. Soon after this 
an epidemic disease proved fatal to two of his sons, and he was 
informed that Martin, too, had fallen a victim to it. His friends 
on this occasion insisted and urged him to sacrifice his personal 
wishes, and to give his consent to his son's entering the holy 
order and becoming a monk. But he hesitated and refused, till 
finally he was persuaded and said : " Be it so ! God grant that 
he may do well ! " Yet he did not consent freely or with a 
willing heart. 

Luther, now, according to the custom in cloisters, laid aside 
his baptismal name" Martin, and was thenceforth called Au- 
gustinus, a change which he afterwards greatly abhorred, and 
regarded as a denial of Christ and of baptism. 

Authorities. — Melanchthon, p. 7, sqq. Mathes. 1. Pred. Ratzen- 
berger in Seckend, p. 21, Add. III. a. Luther's Works, vol. 18, p. 55 
— vol. 2, p. 820. Nic: Selnecceri, VitaL-i (edit. Mayeri Witteb. 1687) 
p. 18. Fragment of a sermon of Luther's, on 2 Epiph. 1544, " Against 
secret betrothments," taken from the MS. of Valent. Bavarus, and con. 

2 



18 



luther's youth. 



tained in W". E. Tenzel's historical report concerning the beginning and 
the progress of the Reformation, and published by I)r. E. S. Cyprian, 
3d edition. Leipzig, 1718, chap. 3. 

Notes. — 1.) The chronology in this as well as in the earlier part of 
Luther's life, generally is rather unsettled ; yet it is certain that in 1501 
he entered the university, that in 1503 he received the first philosophical 
degree, that of Bachelor, and in 1505 that of Master, although Melanch- 
thon departs from the latter statement. He entered the cloister most 
probably even before the close of the year 1505 : with this Luther's 
own statement (Works, vol. 18, p. 55,) can at least be made to agree. 
If he actually entered on the day of Alexius, it cannot have been till 1506. 

2.) What is here related, is based on the testimony of three intimate 
friends of Luther : Melanchthon, Mathesius and Ratzenberger, (his family 
physician towards the close of his life) ; all other accounts are less au- 
thenticated, and in part, probably, embellishment. The Colloquia L-i 
MSta, in Lingke, p. 12, mention Stoterheim, near Erfurt, as the place 
where Luther was terrified by the thunder-storm ; they likewise have 
him enter the cloister die Alexii (16 July) ; and in the 2 vols, of Collec- 
tions by Valentin Bavarus, a Naumburg citizen, which are entitled Rhap- 
sodic de dictis et scriptis Lutheri, and are found in the library at Gotha, 
Luther's friend is called Alexius, and is said to have been struck dead by 
lightning at Luther's side. This apocryphal account is repeated by- 
most of the moderns without examination. 



PART II. 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



FROM LUTHER^ ENTRANCE INTO THE CLOISTER TO HIS FIRST 
TESTIMONY AGAINST INDULGENCES, 1505-1517. 



19 



CONTENTS OF PART II. 



In the cloister, the studious and pious Luther is, through Staupitz's influence, freed 
from the control of ignorant monks and the vexatious labours of the novitiate. For a 
time he can read and enjoy his dear Bible, which had but lately become known to 
him ; on being made priest, however, he is obliged likewise to study the works of the 
scholastics. Continual terror of conscience, which no exercise of monastic piety, or 
acts of self-mortification, though never so faithfully performed or unsparingly inflicted 
can banish, nearly drives him to despair. No one is found to understand him; yet, 
whilst he is thus severely borne down by sin and the law, Staupitz speaks many a 
word of gospel comfort to him, till, finally, through the pious teachings of an aged 
cloister brother, the true light concerning the righteousness of faith first dawns upon 
him. By prayer and by searching in the Scriptures, as well as by the reading of Au- 
gustine's works, this light had already been increased, when he was drawn from his 
seclusion by Staupitz, and called as professor to the new university at Wittenberg. 
Here he occupies the station where he is himself to let his light shine before men, and 
this he does too, already at that time, in his lectures and sermons. Sent to Rome on 
business of his order, Luther does not find the anticipated comfort, which he had pro- 
mised himself from a visit to the holy places ; on the contrary, he is much offended at 
the improper conduct of the clergy, but by this very means forced back only more 
and more to the innermost sanctuary, and the firm stronghold of the righteousness of 
faith. Already consecrated by the spirit of God, he, at the instance of Staupitz, re- 
ceives the external consecration, by having the degree of Doctor conferred on him- 
self ; and now, as doctor of the Holy Scriptures, he daily penetrates more deeply into 
their meaning, and points out the same to others ; he successfully combats the theology 
of the schools with the theology of the Scriptures, and, the vicariate of the Augustine 
order having been committed to him, he has abundant opportunity to employ his 
knowledge of the Bible for comfort, advice, admonition and rebuke. Supporting him- 
self on this scriptural ground, he now too feels himself obligated by his office, both in 
the confessional and in the professor's chair, to bear testimony against the pernicious 
sale of indulgences, calculated, as it was, so much to perplex the consciences of men. 



CHRONOLOGICAL SYNOPSIS. 

1507. May 2. Luther celebrates his first mass, .... Chap. 1 

1508. Luther called to the University of Wittenberg, - " 3 

1509. March 9. Luther created Baccalaureus ad Biblia, " 3 

1510. Luther sent to Rome, "4 

1512. Oct. 18, 19. Luther created Doctor of Theology, . .. " 5 

1516. Luther attacks the scholastic theology, ----- " 6 

1516. Luther travels as vicar of the Augustin order, " 7 

1517. Oct. Luther declares against the sale of indulgences, - - + " 8 



20 



CHAPTER I. 

luther's labours in the cloister and consecration as priest. 

On his entrance into the cloister, Luther had left behind him 
all his books, among the rest the Corpus Juris, having retained 
only Plautus and Virgil. The monks, however, at his request, 
gave him a Latin Bible, bound in red leather. This he perused 
with such zeal, that he was able, at last, immediately to find 
in. it any passage he wanted. On this account he afterwards 
much regretted that he could not retain this copy. Sometimes 
he would for a whole day be engaged in thought upon one or 
the other important passage, and he committed to memory 
many sentences from the prophets, which he did not at that 
time yet understand. But being a novice, the monks imposed 
upon him many filthy and degrading labours ; he had to officiate 
as doorkeeper and sexton, and in these capacities to clean out 
the most loathsome apartments ; they besides associated with 
him a mendicant friar, and in plain language said to him : Cum 
sacco per civitatem ! (with the bag through the town !) by beg- 
ging, and not by studying, are cloisters served and enriched ! 
But, being a member of the university of Erfurt, the latter in- 
terfered in his behalf, and solicited his prior and convent to 
excuse him from such disgusting and vexatious labours. The 
provincial, Dr. Staupitz too, once paying a visit to the cloister, 
reminded the prior, that he should show Luther, as being a 
magister and a studious man, more humane treatment, and 
leave him time for study. It was he also who advised Luther 
above all things to read the Holy Scriptures, and to acquire an 
accurate local knowledge of them ; a counsel which Luther 
obeyed with such success, as to cause Staupitz to marvel, and 

21 



22 LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 

on that account to prefer him to all others. Few, however, at 
that time, participated in such views; and Dr. Usingen, Luther's 
teacher in the cloister, observing how much he read and loved 
the Bible, on one occasion said to him : " Why, brother Martin, 
what is the Bible ? You must read the ancient writers, they 
have extracted the essence of truth from the Bible. The 
Bible is the cause of all disturbance ! " 

In the year 1507, he was Consecrated as priest, and on the 2d 
of May, it being the Sunday called Cantate, he celebrated his 
first mass. " The bishop who consecrated me," (it was Jerome 
Scultetus, bishop of Brandenburg,) he afterwards himself re- 
lated, " as he instituted me a priest and placed the chalice into 
my hand, spake these very words : ' Accipe protestatem sacri- 
ficandi pro vivis et mortuis, Receive the power to offer sacri- 
fice for the living and the dead ! ' That the earth did not, at 
that time, swallow us both up, was wrong, and showed too 
great favour and long-suffering in God ! " 

His father, to whom he had sent a written invitation to at- 
tend in honour of himself and of God, arrived at the cloister, 
accompanied by twenty men, all, as well as himself, on horse- 
back, and presented him with twenty florins. They being now 
seated at table, the son began, though in kindness, to address 
his father, charging him with not doing right, but justifying 
himself, saying : " Dear father, why were you so greatly op- 
posed to my becoming a monk, and became so highly displeased 
and refused to give your consent, and perhaps even yet are not 
wholly satisfied ? Is it not an agreeable, quiet, holy life ? " 
But the father, in presence of all the doctors, magisters and 
other gentlemen, answered and said: Ye learned men, have ye 
not read in the Scriptures, that it is commanded to honour 
father and mother ? " And on the son's remarking, that he had 
been induced to the step he had taken, by a frightful sign from 
heaven, and others too speaking to the same effect, the father 
replied : " God grant that it may not have been a deception and 
delusion of the devil ! " Thus he had indeed consented but not 
willingly, and if it had depended upon him, he would sooner 
have said : " No ! I do not approve of it ! " As he gave them 
to understand, saying : " I have to be present here, eating and 
drinking, but would rather be absent." 

Authorities. — Bavari MSS. in Seckend, c. 1. Mathes. 1 Pred. 
(See further, Selnecker, p. 18.) Ratzenberger in Seckend, 1. i. L. W. 
Hall, ed., vol. 22, p. 35 ; vol. 16, p. 1 145. Fragment of a Sermon, by 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



23 



Luther, from the MS. of Bavarus in Tenzel, Chap. 3, compared with 
Luther's Works, vol. 18, p. 55. 

Note. — 1.) A written invitation to this day's ceremonies, addressed to 
John Braun, vicar at Eisenach, dated the 22d of April, 1507, is the 
earliest letter of Luther's extant. 



CHAPTER II. 

WHAT INWARD TRIALS LUTHER HAD IN THE CLOISTER, AND HOW HE 
WAS COMFORTED. 

On Luther's being made priest, his brethren again took from 
him the Bible, and gave him instead the writings of the scho- 
lastics, which he then, too, from monastic obedience, diligently 
perused. He sometimes read and wrote with such application, 
as, in consequence, for several days, to neglect saying the re- 
gular prayers, which were required. In order then to satisfy 
his conscience and the papal decretals, he would lock himself 
up in his cell, and without partaking of food or drink, make up 
what he had omitted, all which exerted so injurious an influ- 
ence on his system that he at one time, for five weeks together, 
was deprived of sleep and nearly became deranged. 1 He 
could afterwards with truth say of himself: "I speak what is 
true, when I say, I was a pious monk, and so strictly observed 
the rules of my order, that I can declare, if ever a monk, by 
monastic exercises, obtained salvation, I would have obtained 
it too ! In this, all my monastic associates who knew me, will 
bear me witness ; for, if it had continued longer, I would have 
tormented myself to death by keeping vigils, saying prayers, by 
reading and other works." And in another place : " If ever 
there was any one under the Papacy, before the Gospel again 
was brought to light, who truly esteemed the traditions of the 
Pope and of the Fathers, and contended for them with unfeign- 
ed ardour, I may say that I did so especially, contending for 
them with great earnestness and sincerity, and defending them 
as if they had been holiness itself, or as if it had been altogether 
necessary to salvation to keep them. Therefore, too, I exercised 
myself to the utmost in observing such traditions, torturing and 
tormenting my body by fasts and vigils and praying and other 
similar exercises, much more than any of those that are now 
my bitterest enemies and persecutors; and being thus qualified 



24 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



to speak from experience, I now teach that such foolish works 
cannot make any one just before God. For I was so intent on 
observing such nonsensical regulations, that I undoubtedly be- 
came quite superstitious in consequence, imposing more on 
myself than I was able to bear without injury to health. I 
worshipped the Pope sincerely from my heart, not for the sake 
of fat livings, spiritual fiefs, and high prelacies, &c, but what 
I did, I truly did from a pure, simple heart, true and honest 
zeal, because I believed it was well so to do, and that it ought 
to be so done to the honour of God, &c." 

But though he studied and prayed day and night in the 
cloister, besides mortifying and torturing his flesh by fasting 
and watching, he was yet continually sorrowful and dejected, 
nor did the ceremony of the mass afford him any comfort. He 
thought to satisfy the law and to deliver his conscience from 
the rod of the taskmaster, but he accomplished nothing, and the 
further he proceeded in this course the more he was terrified, 
so that at last he would have given himself up to despair, if 
Christ had not in mercy regarded him, and enlightened him 
with the light of his Gospel. 

He portrays the state of his mind at that time, when in the 
hymn: Let Christians all in God rejoice, etc., (Nun freut euch, 
lieben Christen Gemein,) he sings as follows : 

" By Satan bound, I captive lay, 

In death I was forsaken ; 
My sins distressed me night and day, 

My conscience they 'd awaken. 
But I sunk only more and more ; 
There was no good in me, and sore 

Had sin my heart corrupted. 

Good works I did, were not received, 

For sin with good was mated ; 
God's Word free-will had not believed, 

And all that 's good it hated ; 
Thus terror drove me to despair, 
Of nought but death I was the heir, 

To hell I fast was sinking." 

Luther repeatedly confessed to Dr. Staupitz, and complained 
to him of his inward trials. The doctor replied: "I have never 
had or experienced such trials ; but as much as I can under- 
stand and perceive, they are more necessary for you than food 
and drink." If he went to any one else, the result was the 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



25 



same ; no confessor knew anything of such things. Then he 
thought to himself, no one has such trials but alone thou ! and 
he began to look like a corpse. At last, Dr. Staupitz, still ob- 
serving him so sad and desponding, addressing him, as they 
were sitting at table, said : " Why are you so sad, Frater Mar- 
tine ? But Luther replied : " Alas, whither shall I go ? " 
Staupitz answered : " You do not know that such trials are 
good and necessary for you, as without them nothing good 
would come of you." 

On another occasion, when Luther was quite borne down by 
despondency, Dr. Staupitz powerfully comforted him, saying, 
among other things : " You wish to be an imaginary sinner, 
and to take Christ for an imaginary Saviour ; accustom your- 
self to think that Christ is a true Saviour, and that you are a 
real sinner. God does not play with shadows, and does not 
trifle when He sends us His Son, and gives Him for us." At 
another time, on Luther's complaining to Dr. Staupitz, that 
great mental distress and anguish had befallen him, whilst re- 
flecting on the subject of predestination ; the doctor said : " In 
the wounds of Christ predestination is understood and found, but 
nowhere else. For it is written : Him you shall hear ! The 
Father is, too, exalted, therefore He says : I will give you a 
way in which you can come to me, namely, Christ ; on him be- 
lieve and to him cling, then you shall at the proper time find 
out who I am. For God is incomprehensible, and we cannot 
understand, or with our thoughts attain to, what He is, much 
less what is His will ; he cannot be comprehended, and, in 
short, will not be comprehended either, out of Christ. If you 
wish to dispute concerning predestination, then begin at the 
wounds of Christ, when all doubtful disputing concerning this 
subject will immediately cease and be silenced. Therefore, 
only cling to the Word, in which God has revealed himself, 
and abide in the same ; there you have the true way of your 
salvation, if you only believe him. But where one follows his 
own thoughts or reason, God is forgotten ; there the " laudate " 
(praise ye) ceases, and the " blasphemate " (blaspheme ye) be- 
gins, for in Christ Jesus all treasures lie concealed, but out of 
him, they are all locked up. Therefore, learn to know Christ 
well, then predestination is accomplished, and you are already 
predestinated. For God has before predestinated and ordered 
it that His Son should suffer, not for the just, but for sinners. 
He that believes this shall be a dear child. Therefore we are 



26 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



to think thus on this subject : God is "true, and does not lie or 
deceive : this I know : and He has given me His only-begotten 
Son, with all his blessings ; has given me holy baptism, the sa- 
crament of the true body and blood of His dear Son, with all 
manner of gifts, temporal and spiritual. When I thus reflect 
upon the great and unspeakable blessings, which my Heavenly 
Father, purely out of grace and mercy, for Christ's sake, has 
bestowed upon me, without any merit, good work or worthi- 
ness of mine, according to the testimony of His Word, and if I 
abide in this, then predestination is attractive and consoling, 
remaining firm and sure to me, especially, because I know 
that God, in His Word, speaks to me through His servants." 

The conversation, at one time, turning upon the word peni- 
tentia or repentance, Staupitz said : " That there was no true 
repentance, except that which flowed from love to God and 
His righteousness." This assertion, as Luther himself, after- 
wards, on transmitting to Staupitz the defence of his theses, 
(compare Part 3, ch. 4,) states to the latter, remained fixed in 
his soul, as a sharp arrow discharged by an able archer ; he 
searched the Scriptures for further light on this subject, and 
with the deepest emotions of joy perceived, that every word in 
the Bible sustains the position taken by Staupitz, so that, if be- 
fore there had been no word in all the Scriptures more bitter 
to him, nothing afterwards had a sweeter or more agreeable 
sound for him than the word repentance. 

Luther, with great regard and heartfelt gratitude, often, in 
particular, mentioned an aged cloister brother, who, on the 
former's complaining to him of his inward trials, had pointed 
him to the Apostles' Creed, where it says : / believe in the for- 
giveness of sin. This clause he explained thus : " It is not 
enough to believe in general, that the sins of some men are 
forgiven; the devils, too, believe, that the sins of David and 
Peter are forgiven ; but God will have every one to believe 
that his own sins are. forgiven. And this explanation he sup- 
ported by a quotation from a sermon of St. Bernard on the An- 
nunciation, in which the latter says : " But do thou now, too, 
believe this, that through him thy sins are forgiven thee ? That 
is the testimony of the Holy Ghost in thy heart, when He says: 
4 Thy sins are forgiven thee.' For this is the meaning of the 
apostle, 1 that a man is justified out of grace through faith. 1 " 

From this conversation, Luther not only derived strength, 
but was likewise, by it, directed to the doctrine, so often in- 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



27 



culcated by the apostle : We are justified by faith. Having now- 
read many comments on this and similar passages, he was, by 
means of the conversations with this man, and the comfort he 
experienced in his soul, led to perceive how meagre and de- 
ficient the comments were, which could then be had. By 
reading and comparing the words and examples recorded in 
the prophets and the writings of the apostles, as well as by ex- 
citing faith in himself through daily prayer, he gradually gain- 
ed clearer perceptions. He now, too, began to peruse the 
writings of Augustine ; and in the latter's explanation of the 
psalms, as well as in his book De Spiritu et Littera, he met with 
many clear passages in support of this doctrine of faith, con- 
firmatory to him of the comfort which had been diffused over 
his soul. Yet he did not wholly neglect the writings of the 
scholastics. Gabriel and Peter of Alliaco, he was able to re^ 
peat from memory, almost word for word. He spent much 
time, too, in reading the works of Occam, whom he esteemed 
above Thomas and Scotus for penetration and genius. He dili- 
gently, too, readGerson, but most of all, the works of Augustine, 
in which he was most at home. 

Authorities. — Mathes. 1 Pred. Bavari MSS. in Seckend, c. I. 
Tischreden, Hall, ed., vol. 22, p. 814. Luther's Works, vol. 21, p. 21, 
11, 53, 7, 104, Hall, ed., vol. 22, p. 1254. Luther's Lett., vol. 5, No. 
2229, vol. 1, No 67. Cyriac, Spangenberg's Adelspiegel, Schmalkal- 
den, 1791-1794, vol. 2, p. 88. Melanch.,p. 10, 11. 

Note. — Seckend, c. I. states, on the authority of Ratzenberger's MS., 
that Luther being in great mental distress, once locked himself up, not 
permitting any one for several days to come in to him. That Lucas 
Edemberger, at last, together with several other young men, skilled in 
music, having knocked at the door and receiving no answer, had forced 
it open. That on entering they had found Luther lying there senseless, 
but by means of music, in which he delighted, had brought him to again, 



CHAPTER III. 

LUTHER IS CALLED TO WITTENBERG TEACHES AND PREACHES THEIIS. 

In the year 1502, the elector, Duke Frederick of Saxony, had, 
at the instance of his brother, the bishop of Magdeburg, re- 
solved to establish a university at Wittenberg. The execution 
of this design he had committed to Dr. Martin Mellerstadt and 
Dr. John Staupitz ; the latter, at that time, being vicar or su- 



28 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



perintendent of forty Augustine cloisters in Meissen and Tim- 
ringia. Dr. Staupitz, now, being anxious to promote the study 
of theology in the new university, and having discovered in 
brother Martin special ability and sincere piety, brought him 
to the cloister at Wittenberg, in the year 1508. His departure 
from Erfurt proceeded with such haste, that scarcely his most 
intimate friends knew of it at the time. 

In Wittenberg, Luther, at first, lectured on the dialectics and 
physics of Aristotle. But the chair of philosophy was not his 
choice. From the beginning — so he writes to his friend, John 
Braun — he would much have preferred the chair of theology, 
of that theology, namely, which penetrates to the kernel of the 
nut, the pulp of the wheat, and the marrow of the bones, 
" But," said he, " God is God, man often, yea, always, errs in his 
judgment. That is our God ; may He himself conduct us ac- 
cording to his loving kindness forever." 

On the 9th of March, 1509, Luther was admitted to the first 
theological degree, that of a " baccalaureus tanquam ad biblia." 
He now began to hold disputations against those sophistical 
principles, which, at that time, were everywhere in vogue. In 
opposition to these, he inquired after the true and sure ground 
of our salvation. The writings of the prophets and apostles, 
as proceeding forth from God, he took to be much higher, more 
profound and certain, than all the sophistry or theology of the 
schools, winch at that time already excited the surprise of re- 
flecting men. Dr. Mellerstadt frequently said : " This monk 
will confound all our doctors, establish new doctrines, and reform 
the whole Roman Church ; for he bases himself on the writings 
of the prophets and apostles, and is firmly planted on the Word 
of Jesus Christ ; this no one can successfully oppose or eventu- 
ally subvert, be it with philosophy, sophistry, albertistry, tho- 
mistry, or the whole array of authorities." 

Staupitz earnestly admonished Luther likewise to apply 
himself to preaching, which the latter, however, considering 
that it was not a small matter, in God's stead to speak to men 
and preach to them, was not easily persuaded to do. He ad- 
vanced some fifteen reasons and arguments by way of excusing 
himself and showing his unfitness for the ministerial office, and 
finally said : "Doctor, it will deprive me of life, I shall not en- 
dure it three months." But Dr. Staupitz rejoined : "Well, in 
God's name, grant it be so ; bu , what shall we do ? God has 
important business, and has employment for intelligent men in 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



29 



heaven too," &c. And thus Martin had to comply, having, in 
the first place, to preach to the brethren in the saloon of the 
cloister, and afterwards publicly to the congregation. 1 But 
Myconius thus describes the little church, in which Luther at 
first preached : " In the new cloister of the Augustines at Wit- 
tenberg, the foundations for the new church were indeed laid, 
but had not been carried up further than to a level with the 
ground. Within the space embraced by this new foundation, 
there yet stood an old chapel built of wood, daubed with clay, 
in a very dilapidated condition, having props on all sides, 
and being about 30 feet by 20 in size. There was in 
it a small, old, sooty gallery, scarcely affording convenient 
room for twenty persons to stand upright. Against the wall, 
on the south, there stood a pulpit, which was raised about four 
feet and a half above the ground, and was put together of old 
rough planks. In short, it every way had the appearance 
which artists give to the stall of Bethlehem, in which Christ 
was born. Now, in this poor and wretched chapel, God per- 
mitted his holy Gospel and dear child Jesus to be born anew ; 
held forth and exhibited to all the world. It was not a minster 
or famous cathedral, though there were many thousand such, 
which God had chosen for this purpose. Bat soon this chapel 
became too small, and Luther was directed to preach in the pa- 
rochial church; 2 thus the child Jesus was brought into the 
temple too. 

Authorities. — Mathes. 1. Pred. Melanchth., p. 12. Luther's 
Letters, No. 2. Records of the Theol. Faculty at Wittenberg, in Sen- 
nerti Athen., et, inscriptt., Witeb, p. 57. Spangenberg, Adelspiegel, as 
before. Frid. Myconii Histor. Reformat., ed. by E. S. Cyprian. Lpz., 
1718, p. 24, sq. 

Notes. — 1.) It cannot be determined whether, what is related here 
took place at Wittenberg or perhaps already at Erfurt ; it is, besides, so 
much like what took place between Luther and Staupitz, before the for- 
mer was made doctor of theology, that the whole may be based upon an 
=error as regards the occasion. (See chap. 5.) 

2.) Luther's preaching in the parochial church, was occasioned thus : 
the pastor, Simon Heynss, son of a wealthy citizen of Bruck, and bro- 
ther to the well-known Dr. George Bruck or Pontanus, being in ill 
health, Luther was called on to supply his place ; this was done with 
the consent of the university as well as of the elector. Vid. Tenzel's 
Hist Bericht, &c, p. 232. 



30 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



CHAPTER IV. 

luther's journey to rome — and what he learnt there. 

Luther had begun to explain the epistle to the Romans. As 
he was progressing with this, he came to the quotation from 
the prophet Habakkuk: The just shall live by faith. This made 
so deep an impression on his mind, that, no matter with what 
he was eng-aged, a voice seemed continually to say to him : 
The just shall live by faith. He felt himself powerfully ex- 
cited, but how to calm the emotions of his mind, he knew not. 
Under these circumstances, it happened that his convent (in the 
year 1510) sent him, together with another brother of his 
order, on a mission to Rome, for the purpose of arranging some 
business appertaining to the cloister. 1 He undertook this jour- 
ney the more willingly, because he hoped, by a visit to the 
sacred places, as they were called, to obtain comfort and rest 
for his soul. So he journeyed on: but the farther he journeyed, 
the more frequently and earnestly did that voice still seem to 
say : The just shall live by faith. 

Before Luther had even reached the Appenines, he, as he 
was travelling on, came in contact with some monks, whom he 
found eating meat on a Friday. These he kindly and friendly 
admonished not to act thus, but to remember that the Pope had 
forbidden them the use of meat. At this, the monks were 
greatly alarmed, fearing, that, if the matter became known, 
they would be involved in great danger and public disgrace; 
wherefore, they bethought themselves, how they might secretly 
dispatch Luther. Bat God so ordered it, that this bloody de- 
sign was made known to Luther through the doorkeeper ; 
whereupon he lost no time in making his escape. On another 
occasion, he and his companion slept a whole night with the 
window of their apartment open ; which affected their heads 
with such heaviness, that they could not travel more than one 
(German) mile the whole of the next day. They at last were 
again refreshed and revived by eating two pomegranates, by 
means of which God preserved their lives. 

On first coming in sight of Rome, he fell prostrate on the 
ground, and exclaimed: "Hail to thee, thou holy Rome!" 
But he found it to be far otherwise, and therefore afterwards 
said : " Sooner than not to have seen Rome, 1 would miss a 
hundred thousand florins." " Among other vulgarities," so he 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 31 

afterwards related, " I there, as we were seated at table, heard 
the courtiers laughing and telling how some would say mass, 
and speak these words over the bread and the wine : Panis es 
et panis manebis, vinum es et vinum manebis ! (bread thou 
art, and bread thou shalt remain ; wine thou art, and wine 
thou shalt remain !) What was I to think of these things ? 
If here in Rome they publicly and without reserve speak in 
this way, what if they, one and all, pope, cardinals, and 
courtiers, say mass thus ! And, indeed, besides this, it ex- 
ceedingly disgusted me, to find them saying mass with such 
utter indifference and haste, as if they had been practising 
legerdemain; for, before I had come to the Gospel, my fellow 
priest had ended his mass, and was calling to me: Passa, 
passa, that will do, come away, &c. 

It was out of devotion that Luther had come to Rome, and 
there he had hoped to obtain peace for his soul. " Whilst at 
Rome," said he afterwards himself, " I too was such a foolish 
saint, as to run to every church, nook and corner, believing all 
their ridiculous stories and detestable falsehoods. I likewise 
said a mass or ten at Rome, being very sorry, at the time, that 
my parents were not dead, as I would have liked, by means of 
my masses and other precious works and prayers, to have de- 
livered them from purgatory!" At that time, the Pope had 
promised an indulgence to all, that, as a last resort to obtain 
peace and rest, would, on their knees, climb up Pilate's stair- 
case, said to have been brought to Rome from the Hall of 
Judgment at Jerusalem. As Luther, therefore, with a view to 
obtain such indulgence, was engaged in the performance of 
this work, hoping by it to appease the wrath of God, and to 
do penance for his sins, he again felt, as if, all the while, a 
voice of thunder frightfully called to him : The just shall live 
by faith. He at length perceived that there was in these 
words an especial, divine power ; and, hastily departing from 
Rome, he returned to Wittenberg, and began more earnestly to. 
weigh the import and power of this passage. Now he gradual- 
ly learned to understand what is that righteousness of God, so 
often mentioned by the apostle, namely, such a righteousness 
which God for Christ's sake grants to faith. "I here immediate- 
ly felt," he himself writes, " that I was wholly born anew, and 
at once had found a broad and open door into paradise itself; 
the Holy Scriptures, too, now seemed to me to be quite different 
from what they had been before. I therefore hastily, as well 



32 LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 

as I could, at the moment, recalled all similar expressions in 
the Bible, explaining them by this same rule ; as, for instance, 
that this is called the work of God, which God himself works 
in us; the power of God, that, with which he strengthens us; 
the wisdom of God, that, with which he makes us wise ; so 
the rest, the strength of God, the salvation of God, the majesty 
of God, and the like. As, therefore, I had before, from my soul, 
hated this word: God's righteousness ; so now, on the other 
hand, I began highly to prize and to esteem it, as above all 
comparison, lovely and consoling ; and this passage of St. Paul 
now, in truth, was the entrance to paradise." 

Authorities. — Dr. George Mylius, Vorr. zu der Auslegung iiber 
den Brief an die Romer aus der Uebersetzung in Lindner's Compend. 
Seckendorfianum, vol. 1, p. 40, seq. Narratio de profectione, Lutheri 
in urbem Romam in Math. Dresseri, Historia Lutheri, Lipz. 1598. 
Luther's Works, Hall. ed. vol.22, p. 2364,2374; 19, 1509; 5, 1646; 6, 
490 ; 14, 426. 

Note. — 1. Concerning the particulars of this business, the accounts are 
not agreed. Bzovius, annall. ad. an. 1517, says: that the occasion of 
the mission was a difficulty which had arisen between seven Augustine 
cloisters and the vicar-general. The Narratio de Profect. &c, states, 
that Luther was to obtain permission for sick monks to use meat as food 
on fast-days. In order to succeed in this, ten florins of gold had been 
given him to procure an intercessor. 

CHAPTER Y. 

LUTHER CREATED DOCTOR OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 

In the year 1512, Staupitz, Luther's vicar and superior, to- 
gether with the whole convent, determined that brother Martin 
should become doctor of the Holy Scriptures. This determina- 
tion Staupitz made known to him at Wittenberg, in the fields 
of the cloister, beneath a tree, which Luther himself once 
pointed out to Mathesius and others. But on Luther's most 
humbly excusing himself, and among other reasons mentioning 
as a last one, that he was a weakly and sick brother, who had 
not long to live, wherefore they should look out for one more 
competent and healthy, Staupitz playfully replied to his last 
objection : " Things have the appearance, as if our God would 
soon have much to do in heaven and on earth : he will therefore 
need many young and industrious doctors, through whom to 
transact his business. Whether now you live or die, God 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



33 



needs you in his council. Therefore submit to what your con- 
vent imposes on yon, as you are, too, by your vows, obligated 
to obey me and them. As to the expenses, our most gracious 
elector, Duke Frederick, will, out of his own treasury, defray 
them, for the furtherance of the cause of God and of this uni- 
versity and cloister." For the elector had heard Luther preach, 
and had admired his genius, the vigour of his language and the 
useful instruction which he had given. 

Thus then Martin Luther, about one o'clock in the afternoon 
of the 18th of October, it being the festival of St. Luke, was, in 
accordance with the prescriptions of the statutes, declared li- 
centiate of sacred theology, by Dr. Andrew Bodenstein Karl- 
stadt, archdeacon of the church of All Saints, in presence of a 
very large number of gentlemen from the university, as well 
as of other respectable men. The fathers and the guests hav- 
ing, on the following day, during the ringing of the great bell, 
assembled as before, he was, by the aforesaid Dr. Andrew, ac- 
cording to the requirements of the statutes, adorned with the 
badge of a doctor of sacred theology. The attendants were the 
Augustine M. Wenzeslaus Link, and Nichol. Virimontanus, 
pastor of the parochial church. 

With this regular and public call, and the solemn obligations 
he had entered into in his oath to God, the Holy Scriptures, and 
the university at Wittenberg, Luther subsequently often com- 
forted himself under his great distresses and trials, when Satan 
and the world attempted to terrify and to dismay him, by ask- 
ing: Who had given him command ? or how he would answer 
for it, that he was causing such disturbance throughout Christen- 
dom? " I received a regular call," he wrote, " and was forced 
to become a doctor, without any thanks for it, it being required 
as a matter of pure obedience. I was compelled to receive the 
doctorate, and to take oath and vow to my dearest Holy Scrip- 
tures, to preach them faithfully and without adulteration. 
Whilst engaged in such teaching, the Papacy crossed my path 
and attempted to withstand me, but for such conduct it has 
fared too, as every one now sees, and it shall yet fare much 
worse, nor shall they be able to deliver themselves from me !" 

Now Luther began to lecture on the Epistle to the Romans, 
and then on the Psalms, and so explained these writings, that, 
in the judgment of all pious and intelligent men, after a long 
and dark night, a new light in doctrine seemed to be arising. 
In these lectures he pointed out the difference between the law 

3 

I 



34 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



and the gospel ; in them he refuted the error which at that 
lime prevailed in the schools and the pulpits, namely, that men 
can obtain the forgiveness of sin through their own good 
works, and can become just before God through outward acts, 
as the Pharisees had taught. Thus Luther again drew the 
hearts of men to the Son of God ; and as John the Baptist point- 
ed to the Lamb of God, that bore our sins, so the former showed 
that sin is forgiven for the sake of the Son of God, and that we 
must accept this blessing in faith. 

Thus, for instance, he wrote to a friend and brother of his 
order, George Spenlein of Memmingen: " I would like to know 
how matters stand with regard to your soul ; whether, at last, 
it is loath of its own righteousness, and learns to refresh itself 
in the righteousness of Christ, and to trust in it. For in our 
time very many fall a prey to presumptuous conceit, especial- 
ly such as labour with all their might to become just and 
pious ; they know not the righteousness of God which in Christ 
is bestowed upon us superabundantly and gratuitously, but 
seek of themselves to do so much good as to enable them to 
have the joy of appearing before God, as people adorned with 
good works and merits, which yet cannot possibly be effected. 
When you were with us you entertained this opinion, or much 
rather this error, and I too entertained it, and even yet have to 
contend against it and have not fully overcome it. Therefore, 
nry dear brother, learn to know Christ and him crucified ; 
learn to praise him, and, despairing of thyself, to say : Thou, 
my Lord Jesus, art my righteousness, but I am thy sin. Thou 
hast taken upon thyself what was mine, and given me what was 
thine. Thou hast become what thou wert not, and made me 
what I was not. Beware of thinking to become so holy, that 
thou wilt no longer appear or be a sinner in thine own eyes, 
for Christ dwells only in sinners. He has come down from 
heaven, where he has his abode in the righteous, that he may 
likewise dwell in sinners. This, his love, contemplate, and 
you will in it find the sweetest comfort. For if we had to ob- 
tain peace of conscience by our labour and toil, what need 
would there have been of his death ? Therefore only in him, 
by utterly despairing of yourself and your works, will you find 
peace, and moreover learn from himself, that as he has re- 
ceived you, and made your sins his own, so likewise he has 
made his righteousness your own. If you firmly believe this, 
as you must, (for cursed is he that does not believe it,) then 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



35 



likewise receive your still-failing and erring brethren, patient- 
ly bearing with them, =and making their sins your own ; and if 
you have anything good, then let it be theirs, as the apostle 
teaches : " Receive one another, even as Christ likewise has re- 
ceived you to the honour of God ; and again : Let the same 
mind be in you which was also in Christ, who, being in the 
form of God, made himself of no reputation, &c. Thus, like- 
wise, do you, if you think you are better, not consider it rob- 
bery, as if it were yours alone, but make yourself of no reputa- 
tion, forgetting who you are, and being as one of them, that you 
may bear with them. For wretched is his righteousness, who 
compares others with himself, considering them worse and be- 
ing unwilling to bear with them, but thinking of fleeing and 
withdrawing, when he ought to make himself useful to them 
through patience, prayer and example. That is burying one's 
talent, and not giving to one's fellow-servants what yet belongs 
to them. Therefore, if you are a rose or lily of Christ, know 
that you must live amidst thorns, and beware, lest through im- 
patience, prejudice and secret pride, you yourself become a 
thorn. The kingdom of Christ is in the midst of his enemies, 
as the psalm says : Why do you then think, that he ought to 
be in the midst of friends ? Upon your knees, therefore, ask of 
your Lord Jesus whatsoever you lack. He himself will in- 
struct you in everything ; only do you observe what he has 
done for you and all, that you may learn, too, what you must 
do for others. If he himself had wished to live only among 
the good and to die for friends, for whom, in all the world, 
could he have died, or with whom ever have lived ? Act ac- 
cordingly, my brother, and pray for me, and may the Lord be 
with you." 

Authorities. — Mathes. 1 Pred. Melanchth., p. 13. Proceedings 
of the Theol. Faculty, in J. Fr. Mayer, Annott. ad Selneoc. Vitam 
Lutheri, p. 32. Luther's Works, vol. 20, p. 336. Letters, No. 9. 



CHAPTER VI. 

LUTHER CONTENDS AGAINST THE THEOLOGY OF THE SCHOOLS. 

That Luther treated of these principal parts of Christian doc- 
trine, procured for him great respect, the more so, as his life 
was conformable to his doctrines ; and it could be seen, that it 



36 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



was a matter with him, not merely of the lips, but of the heart, 
This, his worthy life, very much disposed the hearts of his- 
hearers in his favour ; and when he subsequently changed some 
ceremonies of the Church, respectable men, who knew him 
more intimately, were on this very account less opposed to his- 
measures, and supported him because of the consideration 
which he had gained for himself by the explanation of such 
wholesome doctrines, and the unblameableness of his life. At 
that time, however, Luther had not yet changed anything in 
the ceremonies of the Church, but was much rather .a strict 
guardian of order among those around him. He did not, how- 
ever, intermingle any of those subtle doctrinal views, (which 
were in vogue in the theological schools at that time,) but only 
more and more treated of those universal, and for all so 
necessary doctrines of repentance, of the forgiveness of sin, of 
faith, and of true comfort under affliction. The soothing in- 
fluence of these doctrines took a deep hold upon the minds of 
all pious men ; and the learned were pleased, that Christ, the 
prophets and the apostles were, so to speak, drawn forth from 
the darkness and the dust in which they were lying captive,, 
and that men learned to see the difference between the law 
and the Gospel, and the promises of both, between philosophy 
and Scripture doctrine, (of which nothing was to be found in 
Thomas, Seotus and others of their kind.) and finally between 
spiritual and wordily righteousness. It was a favourable cir- 
cumstance, that the youth had, through the writings of Eras- 
mus, been drawn to the study of the Latin and Greek lan- 
guages ; and a better method of teaching having thus been in- 
troduced, many able and clearer heads became disgusted with 
the barbarous and scholastic system of the monks. Luther 
himself had begun to apply himself to the study of the Greek 
and Hebrew languages, in order, by acquiring an insight into 
the peculiarity of the language, to be able to draw the doctrines 
from their sources, and with more certainty to arrive at a de- 
cision. 

At that time, the learned Dr. John Reuchlin had a dispute 
with the baptized Jew, Pfefferkorn, and the grand inquisitors at 
Cologne, because he could not approve of committing to the 
flames the Hebrew books of the Jews, giving as a reason, lhat 
we could not possibly do without the Hebrew books and lan- 
guage in Christendom, if a correct and saving understanding 
of the prophets was to be acquired. Tn two letters to M. Geo<. 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



Spalatin, court-preacher to the electorate of Saxony, who 
through the Augustinian, M. John Lange, had inquired of 
Luther his opinion, the latter expressed his decided approbation 
of Reuchlin's course. With Erasmus, on the other hand, he be- 
came more and more dissatisfied. He indeed saw it gladly, 
that Erasmus refuted the monks and priests in so forcible and 
learned a manner, thus exposing their ignorance ; but he fear- 
ed that the doctrine of Christ and of His atonement would not 
be promoted by it, as of this, in his opinion, Erasmus under- 
stood nothing. The human, he thought, preponderated with 
him over the divine. Not every one that understood Greek or 
Hebrew, said he, was, therefore, already an experienced Chris- 
tian. One dialogue of Erasmus, indeed, he would not put into 
the hands of any one, because of its being written so pleasing- 
ly, learnedly, and ingeniously, that a person was led involun- 
tarily to laugh and jest over the defeets and the sad condition 
of the church of Christ, whilst every Christian should rather 
sigh to God and be filled with grief on account of these things. 
With Erasmus' Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Lu- 
ther found fault especially for this, that by the righteousness of 
works, or of the law, he understood the observance of the cere- 
monial law, and that he refused to admit, that in the 5th 
chapter, Paul speaks of original sin. Yet these opinions of his 
he wished to have kept quite secret, in order not to confirm the 
enemies of Erasmus in their views, and he hoped God would 
perhaps, at the proper time, likewise bring Erasmus to see 
things in their true light. 

Meanwhile Luther, in his lectures and disputations, treated 
particularly of this question : Whether we should or could learn 
true faith, so as to lead a Christian life and to die happily, from 
the Holy Scriptures or from the heathen Aristotle. 1 Against the 
latter's philosophy and theology, he, in a writing (of the 8th of 
February, 151G) to his former instructor, Dr. Iodocus, proposed 
a series of questions, and towards John Lange he expressed his 
displeasure about it, that Aristotle, this dramatist, in his Gre- 
cian mask, had so completely mocked the Church of Christ ; 
and further he said, that he would not hesitate to take him for 
the very Devil, if he had not had flesh and bone. 

But because Luther's opponents had all manner of things to 
say about his lectures, M. Bartholomew Feldkirchen 2 prepared 
a disputation from them, " Concerning the ability and the will 
of man, without grace, in opposition to the doctrines of the so- 



38 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



phists ; " the defence of the disputation, over which Luther pre- 
sided, was conducted in public, for the purpose of stopping the 
mouths of brawlers, and in order likewise to hear the opinion 
of others on the subject. Among other theses maintained were 
the following: 

Man being, according to his soul, in the image of God, and 
therefore fitted for God's grace, with his merely natural powers 
subjects every creature, which he uses, to vanity, and seeks 
what is his own and what is carnal. 

Aside from the grace of God, man cannot at all keep God's 
laws, and can neither partly nor wholly prepare himself for 
God's grace, but of necessity remains under sin. 

Since, to a believer, all things are possible through Christ, it 
is superstition, when men arbitrarily ascribe the power to help 
in one case to this, in another to that Saint. 3 

Because of such doctrines, Luther was indeed already at that 
time denounced as a heretic, and " some high-learned folks," — 
says he, in the preface to the " German Theology," a book of 
which he with praise declares, that, next to the. Bible and Sr. 
Augustine, he had not met with another, from which he had 
learned so much concerning the nature of God, Christ, man, and 
everything else, — " speak abusively of us Wittenberg theolo- 
gians, as if we wished to undertake new things, and as if there 
had not likewise been men elsewhere before us. Yet surely 
there have been ; but God in His displeasure, which we have 
incurred by our sins, has not deemed us worthy to see or hear 
them. For it is evident, that these things have for a long time 
not been treated of in the universities, and things have been 
in such a pass, that God's Word has not only been lying under 
the bench, but has been nearly destroyed by dust and moths." 

Whilst Luther was thus, step by step, learning to spell the 
Bible, Staupitz, Spalatin, and other good men, used their in- 
fluence with the elector for promoting the study of the learned 
languages, and of the liberal arts; for these languages, con- 
nected with sincere prayer, the holy cross, and earnest reflec- 
tion, are the best commentators and exponents of the Word of 
God. The text of the Bible, consequently, became daily more 
plain and easy, and on the 17th of May, 1517, Luther could 
write to John Lange : "Our theology and St. Augustine 
flourish, and with God's help rule in our university. Aristotle 
is gradually descending from his throne, and will soon be over- 
thrown, perhaps, forever. The lectures on the Sententiarians 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



39 



are much despised, and no one can count on an audience, if he 
does not lecture on this theology, i. e., on the Bible or St. Au- 
gustine, or some other genuine Father of the Church." 

Towards the close of the year 1517, M. Francis Giinther, 
under Luther's presidence, held another disputation, in which 
the Scholastics, and the whole system of doctrine in vogue at 
that time, were decidedly opposed in 99 theses, among which 
were the following : 

4. It is certain that man, having become an evil tree, can 
wish and do only that which is evil. 

5. It is false to say, that free-will is able to decide for both 
sides ; rather it must be said not to be a free but a captive will. 

13. It is a very absurd conclusion to say: erring man can 
love the creature above all things, therefore God too. 

16. Much rather is this the conclusion: erring man can love 
the creature, therefore it is impossible for him to love God. 

40. We do not become righteous by doing what is right, 
but when we have become righteous then we do what is right. 

41. Nearly the whole of Aristotle's Moral Philosophy is in 
direct opposition to grace. 

42. It is an error to say, that without Aristotle no one be- 
comes a theologian. 

44. Much rather, no one becomes a theologian but without 
Aristotle. 

It is asserted, in conclusion, that in all this, nothing is said 
but what agrees with the Catholic Church and the ancient 
Fathers. Luther, notwithstanding, when, under date of the 4th 
of September, 1517, he sent these theses to John Lange, feared 
that they would be considered dangerous, but declared himself 
ready to dispute concerning them, either in the university or 
cloister of Erfurt, lest it might be supposed, he wished to speak 
these things only in a corner, if, namely, the university of Wit- 
tenberg were considered as insignificant so to be taken for a 
corner. 

Authorities. — Melanch., p. 14, sq. Mathes. 1. Pred. — Luther's 
Letters, No. 3, 7, 29, 47, 22, 8, 19, 34, 37. The Theses de Viribus et 
Voluntate Hominis sine Gratia, in Loscher's Reformationsacten^vol. i., 
p. 328, sq. — Luther's Works, vol. 22, append., p. 74. — Tom. Jenens. 1, 
p. 9, sqq. 

Notes. — 1 .) The philosophy of Aristotle, as is well known, formed 
the basis for the so-called scholastic or school theology, which prevailed 
in the middle ages, continually departing farther and farther from the 



40 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



Holy Scriptures, and deteriorating into the extreme of subtlety, till final- 
ly the Reformation opposed to it a biblical and scriptural theology. 

2. ) — He was the first clergyman who afterwards took the bold step to 
enter into the married state. 

3. ) — The subject of these theses was the primary cause of the contro- 
versy between Eck and Carlstadt, which afterwards led to the disputa- 
tion at Leipzig. Compare Part 3d, chaps. 4 and 8. 

CHAPTER VII. 

luther's visitation of the cloisters and other labours in the 
years 1516 and 1517. 

The Elector of Saxony, who had before been in the Holy Land, 
had caused a new cathedral to be erected in his castle at Wit- 
tenberg to the honour of all saints, and was having all manner 
of relics collected for it. Thus it happened that Dr. Staupitz 
was dispatched to the Netherlands to bring some relics from a 
cloister there, and in the meantime, the vicariate or visitation 
of the Augustine cloisters (in Meissen and Thuringia) was 
committed to Dr. Luther. He accordingly, for some time, 
travelled from one cloister to the other, assisted in establishing 
schools, and admonished all under his charge to apply them- 
selves to the study of the Bible, as well as to live piously, 
peaceably, and orderly. On the first of May, he was in Dres- 
den, then visited the cloisters in Gotha, (here delivering a dis- 
course 1 in the convent,) Langensalza, Nordhausen, and other 
places of Thuringia, and in health, at least as to the body, re- 
turned to his station in the beginning of June. Now he was 
every day so busily occupied in writing letters on business con- 
nected with his order, that he might well have employed two 
secretaries. 

To Michael Dressel, Augustine prior at Nuestadt, who lived 
in discord with his monks, he wrote : " You indeed seek peace 
and pursue it, but in the wrong way, for you seek it such as the 
world, and not such as Christ gives. Or do you not know that 
God, therefore, is so wonderful among His people, that He has 
placad His peace precisely there where there is no peace, name- 
ly, among trials ? as it is said : God rules in the midst of His 
enemies. He, therefore, has no peace, whom no one molests, 
for this is the peace of the world ; but he has peace whom all 
men and all things molest, and who yet quietly and joyfully 
bears it all. You say with Israel : peace, peace ! whilst yet 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



41 



there is no peace. Rather say with Christ : cross, cross ! and 
yet there is no cross. For the cross immediately ceases to be 
a cross, as soon as a person joyfully says : O, thou most blessed 
cross ! " As the discord continued, Luther had to dismiss the 
prior from his office, but comforted and told him, that it was 
done only for the sake of peace, and he exhorted his brethren 
to pray to God without ceasing, that he would guide them in 
their new choice ; " For I testify to you," he wrote, " and tell 
you beforehand, that if you do not by prayer, obtain from God 
your superiors, you will have no peace or prosperity, even if 
St. John the Baptist were your prior. All things are in the 
hands of the Lord; he that does not believe this, will have 
vexation and trouble till he learns it by experience." 

The Augustine prior, John Lange, at Erfurt, he admonished 
to deal gently with a fallen brother, writing to him : " Let- it 
not vex thee that we have to bear this reproach. That one 
should bear the other's burthen, for this we are called, bap- 
tized, ordained ; and whatever is deformed in us we must sur- 
round with so much the greater honour. One must cover the 
other's deformity, because Christ has thus been a covering to 
us, is yet, and will be to eternity, as it is written : Thou art a 
priest forever. Carefully beware, therefore, and be not so pure 
as to be unwilling to be touched by the impure, or to refuse to 
bear, hide and wipe away impurity. You have an office of 
honour, but that consists in this very thing to bear the disgrace 
of others. For thus it becomes us to boast of the cross and of 
dishonour. 

The provost at Leitzkau, on the other hand, he advises, not- 
withstanding the deep sense of his own sinfulness, to execute 
the fixed punishment against an offender, and says : " In your 
heart, therefore, preserve humility and mildness towards him, 
but your hand and authority must show rigour ; for the power 
is not yours, but God's ; humility, however, not God's but yours. 
Who knows but for this very purpose it has been permitted the 
offender to make his shocking sin manifest, because in secret 
he could not be reformed, which now will be best accomplish- 
ed by this open disgrace. God is wonderful in His dealings 
with the children of men. Many He cures of sin by sin, as 
poison is expelled by poison. Therefore let nothing deter you 
It is God that works all this ; Him praise and love, and pray for 
that poor man and for me so much the more earnestly." 

During the winter session of 1516, Luther lectured on the 



42 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



Epistle to the Galatians, and afterwards diligently applied 
himself to the translation and exposition of the Seven Peniten- 
tial Psalms, which appeared in 1517, and of which he says : 
" That I am so bold as to explain the Psalms, especially in 
German, I freely leave to every one to judge as he deems fit ; 
for not to me but to God alone be praise and honour without 
end. Amen." 2 

In the month of October, 1516, the pestilence raged at Wit- 
tenberg, and John Lange had advised Luther to flee. He re- 
plied : "Whither shall I flee? Itrust the world will not crumble 
to pieces if brother Martin fall. If the pestilence rages more 
violently, I shall indeed send the brethren away in various di- 
rections, but I have been placed here, and duty forbids me to 
flee. This I do not speak as if I did not fear death, (for I am 
not the Apostle Paul, but only his commentator,) I trust, how- 
ever, God will deliver me from all my fears." 

Finally, in the year 1517, Luther was likewise yet in Dresden, 3 
where on the day of St. James the Elder, (25 July,) he preach- 
ed in the castle, in presence of Duke George, on the Gospel : 
" You know not what to pray for ; " and in his discourse spoke 
against the foolish petitions of men, and showed what a Chris- 
tian ought to pray for. He said that no man ought to cast away 
the hope of salvation, because those who with attentive hearts 
heard the Word of God, were Christ's true disciples, and were 
elected and destined for eternal life. He enlarged on this 
point, and showed that the doctrine of predestination, if only, 
in considering it, we begin with Christ, has a peculiar power 
to chase away those fears, on account of which men, in the 
consciousness of their un worthiness, tremblingly flee from God. 
in whom even above all they should seek refuge. At table, 
the duke questioned Barbara von Sala, lady of honour at the 
court, as to how the sermon had pleased her, and she replied : 
" If she could hear one more such sermon, she would die with 
redoubled resignation." At this the duke became angry, and 
said, he would give no small sum of money if he had not heard 
such a sermon which made people secure. But von Sala had 
her wish, inasmuch, as in the course of a month she was taken 
ill, and joyfully departed out of this world. Luther did not 
again come to Dresden after that time. 

Authorities. — Mathes. 1 Pred. Luther's Letters, No. 33, 15, 18, 
20, 26, 23, 52. — Vorr. zu den 7 Busspsalmen. — Fabricii, Orig. Sax. 1. 
vii., p. 859, (in Seckend. p. 23). 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



43 



Notes.— 1.) It was printed, but is no longer extant. The other writ- 
ings which he composed before the Reformation, published and before 
unpublished, being mostly sermons, are found most complete in Lbscher's 
Reformationsacten, vol. i. 

2. ) These " consecrated firstlings " of his translation and explanation 
of the Bible, undoubtedly a fruit of his own mental conflicts, were re- 
vised by Luther in the year 1525. Both editions are contained in the 
Leipzig ed. of his Works, vol. v. There likewise appeared, already in 
the year 1517, an Explanation of the Ten Commandments, consisting 
of sermons delivered in 1516 and 1517, perhaps from the beginning, 
(compare Letter No. 37,) written in both Latin and German, and con- 
taining a large amount of knowledge. Latin in Loscher, vol. i., p. 577, 
seq. German in Leipzig ed., vol. 4, p. 1, seq. The explanation of the 
Lord's Prayer, too, consisted of sermons preached during Lent of 1517, 
but first published by John Schneider (Agricola) in 1518, vol. ix., p. 
327, sq. 

3. ) Fabricius relates that Duke George had requested Staupitz to send 
him a pious and learned preacher, and that the latter upon this had im- 
mediately sent Luther with the best recommendations. Whether the 
sermon, the chief contents of which Fabricius gives, as quoted above, 
and that of which Luther, by way of supplement, makes mention in a 
letter, (No. 52,) be one and the same, remains uncertain ; it has mean- 
while, however, been so received. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

LUTHER IS GRIEVED AT THE SHAMEFUL PROCEEDINGS OF THE VENDERS 
OF INDULGENCES. 

Whilst Luther was thus engaged, the Dominican monk, 
Tetzel, was offering indulgences for sale in the region of 
country around. All the wicked and blasphemous things 
which this shameless monk ventured to pretend, speak, and 
preach, can hardly be believed. He gave the people letters 
and seals, assuring them that even those sins which they might 
yet intend to commit, should be forgiven ! He declared that 
the pope had more power than all the apostles, angels and 
saints, and even the Virgin Mary herself, for that all these 
were still less than Christ, but that the pope was equal to 
Christ. Yea, that after his ascension, Christ was no longer 
concerned in the government of the church, and would not be 
till the judgment day, but had committed all this to the pope as 
his vicegerent ! 

" At that time," so Luther himself relates, " I was preacher 
in the cloister here, and a young doctor, but lately from the 
mint, ardent and joyful in the Holy Scriptures. Perceiving 



44 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



that many people were then running after indulgences to Ju- 
terbock, Zerbst, &c, and not knowing (as truly as my Lord 
Christ has redeemed me,) what indulgences were, I, with all 
reserve began to preach that one might probably do something 
better, of which there was more certainty that it was right, 
than to buy indulgences. In this way, I had before, too, here in 
the castle, preached against indulgences, and gained but little 
favour by it with Duke Frederick, for he likewise greatly loved 
his bishopric." 1 

But there were some, too, who came to Luther, confessing to 
him, and confiding in the grace promised by the letters of in- 
dulgences which they had purchased. And as they spoke au- 
daciously, and intimated that they would not abstain from 
adultery, fornication, avarice, unjust gain and the like, the 
doctor refused to absolve them, because they showed no signs 
of true repentance, and did not promise to lead a better life. 
Then the penitents appealed to the pope's letters and Tetzel's 
forgiveness and indulgence. But Luther would not listen to 
this, and appealed to the passage : " If ye do not repent, ye 
shall all likewise perish ! " Luke xiii. 3. And because he 
would not absolve them, they again went to Tetzel, and com- 
plained to him, that this Augustine monk would not respect 
their letters. Tetzel was at Jiiterbock, and became quite wroth 
at this news, raved, denounced and uttered fearful impreca- 
tions from the pulpit, and threatened with the interference of 
the grand inquisitors, who at that time were Dominicans. And 
in order to excite terror, he caused a fire to be kindled in the 
market-place several times in the week, signifying in this way, 
that he had authority from the pope, to burn at the stake all 
heretics who opposed themselves to his serene holiness, the 
pope, and his most holy indulgences. 

Luther, in the meantime, was informed, how Tetzel had 
preached shocking and frightful doctrines, as for instance : 

That he had such grace and power from the pope, that 
though one had deflowered the holy Virgin Mary, the mother 
of God, he could forgive it, provided the person placed the re- 
quisite amount of money in the box. 

Again : That the red indulgence-cross, erected in the 
churches, with the pope's armorial bearing on it, was just as 
efficacious as the cross of Christ. 

Again : That if St. Peter were here now, he would not have 
greater grace or power than he had ! 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER 



45 



Again : That he would not in heaven exchange with St. 
Peter, for that he had saved more souls with his indulgences 
than St. Peter by his preaching ! 

Again : That if any one cast money into the box for a soul 
in purgatory, the soul would fly up to heaven as soon as the 
coin tingled at the bottom ! 

Again: That the grace of indulgences is the very grace 
through which man is reconciled to God ! 

Again : That it was not necessary to feel sorrow and grief on 
account of sin, or to repent, if one purchased the indulgences 
or letters of indulgence ! 

Thus, then, did this indulgence-monger, by his audacious 
speeches and shocking obscenities, cause Dr. Luther to buckle 
on his spiritual armour, so that he, taking for his protection 
the sling of David and the sword of the Spirit, which are 
fervent prayer and the pure Word of God, in reliance on his 
doctorate and oath, in the name of God, attacked Tetzel and 
his Roman indulgences, confidently teaching that such indul- 
gences are dangerous fraud. 

But at that time, Luther did not yet know whose this indul- 
gence money was. Soon, however, a book was published, 
splendidly adorned with the armorial bearing of the Bishop of 
Magdeburg, 2 and in this the quaestors were directed to preach 
several of these points. Thus then it appeared that Bishop 
Albrecht had hired this Tetzel. Luther now wrote a letter 
containing the 95 theses, which he afterwards published, and 
sent it to the Bishop of Magdeburg, begging him to check 
Tetzel and to put a stop to his preaching such absurdities and 
errors, else there might grow out of it no little disturbance ; 
that he as archbishop, was in duty bound to interfere thus. 
But he received no answer. He likewise wrote to the Bishop 
of Brandenburg, to whose diocese he belonged, and in whom 
he had a very gracious bishop. The latter replied : That Lu- 
ther was attacking the power of the Church, and would in- 
volve himself in trouble ; that he would advise him to abstain. 3 

Authorities. — Melanchthon, p. 15.- Myconius, Reformationsge- 
schichte, p» 19, seq. Luther's Works, vol. 21, p. 393, seq. Mathes. 2. 
Pred. 

Notes. — 1.) Elector Albrecht, archbishop of Mentz and Magdeburg, 
and bishop of Halle, is meant, who expected from the sale of indulgences 
to obtain a large sum of money, with which he intended to purchase the 



46 



LIFE IN THE CLOISTER. 



archiepiscopal pall at Rome. A part of the proceeds, however, was to 
be sent directly to Rome, to aid in the building of St. Peter's Church. 

2. ) The writing referred to is the Summaria Instructio Jo. Tezelii pro 
Sacerdotibus, of which a fragment is found in Haardt Hist. Lit. Refor- 
mat. IV., p- 14, seq., — in Loscher, vol. 1, p. 415. 

3. ) The point about the two letters is somewhat uncertain ; otherwise 
the account is the same in all. They are no longer extant, but there is 
another letter to the archbishop, written after the theses were published, 
(Vid. Book 3, ch. 1); it cannot be the same, for Luther says too dis- 
tinctly, that he had written before (Compare, too, Hall, ed., vol. 15, 
p. 791) ; yet Luther does not, in this latter letter, mention the earlier 
one. 



PART III. 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



FROM THE APPEARANCE OF THE 95 THESES TO HIS IMPRISONMENT IN 
THE WARTBURG. 

From 31st October, 1517, to the 4th op May, 1521. 



47 



CONTENTS OF PART III. 



Scarcely had Luther published his 95 theses against indulgences, ere a fire from the 
Lord was kindled by means of them, which he had not anticipated and which no on© 
could extinguish. Against the clamour of the papal school-theologians and the inqui- 
sitors he defends himself good-humouredly ; in his audience before Cajetan he undaunt- 
edly abides in his confession of Scripture truth. He is brought into narrow straits, 
but he does not despair. He appeals to a general council, but does not yet wholly 
reject the authority of the Pope ; on the contrary being persuaded by Miltitz,he does his 
utmost to promote a reconciliation. At Leipzig he maintains a "learned discussion 
against the ablest of his opponents ; new foes rise against him on every side ; but in 
Melanchthon and others, God too raises up for him faithful friends, who subsequently 
proved able fellow-combatants. As yet, however, he stands alone, his pious courage 
nevertheless increases during the contest as his knowledge increases. His sharp po- 
lemical writings pierce to the heart of Popery ; his delightful didactic and consolatory 
writings awaken a taste for the sweetness of the Gospel. At length, too, the decisive 
step is taken, the Pope is declared to be anti-christ and his bull is committed to the 
flames. Soon after arrives the citation to appear before the Diet. With his Lord 
Christ, the timid monk, with heroic boldness, proceeds to Worms, appearing before 
the emperor and the realm ; and as before the spiritual court at Augsburg, so here 
before the temporal court, it is given to him to speak what is befitting. The ban of 
the empire is already impending over his head, when, through the intervention of 
friends, he is taken orisoner to Wartburg and graciously concealed. 



CHRONOLOGICAL SYNOPSIS. 

1517. Oct. 31. Luther posts up the 95 theses, .... Chap. 1 



1518. April 26. disputes at Heidelberg, - . - - « 3 

1518. During the Summer. Luther publishes his Explanations, &c, " 4 

1518. Oct. 7-20. Luther at Augsburg and before Cajetan, « 5 

1518. Nov. 28. appeals to a general council, and intends to 

leave Wittenberg, - - - " 6 

1519. March 9. Luther's humble letter to the Pope, inconsequence of 1 

the negotiations with Miltitz, ..." 7 

1519. June 27 — July 16. Luther's Leipzig discussion, " 8 

1519. Dec. Luther's Sermon on the Lord's Supper, " 9 

1520. During Summer. Luther's Address to the Christian nobility of 

the German nation, ..." 9 

1520. Oct. 6. Luther's Writing on the Babylonian captivity, - - "11 

1520. Dec. 10. Luther commits to the flames the papal bull, - - " 12 

1521. April 17, 18. Luther appears before the Diet, - " 14 
1521. May 4. Luther taken prisoner and brought to the Wartburg, - " 15 



48 



CHAPTER I. 

THE 95 THESES. 

Dr. Luther, perceiving that the bishops, too, were unwilling to 
do anything towards putting a stop to the proceedings of John 
Tetzel, felt himself bound by his oath and doctorate, to set 
forth against him and all connected with him, certain proposi- 
tions and arguments, and to post them up on the castle church 
at Wittenberg, on the anniversary of its dedication, 1 as well as 
to publish them in print, which was done on the last day of 
October in the year 1517. 

The introduction to the 95 theses and the articles read as 
follows : 

" From a love and desire to bring to light the truth, there 
will be held a disputation concerning the following theses, 
under the presidence of the honourable father, Martin Luther, 
Augustine, master of the liberal arts and of the Holy Scriptures, 
and professor ordinarius. He therefore prays all that cannot be 
present to converse with him on the subject, to communicate 
their views to him by writing. In the name of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. Amen. In the year 1517." 

1. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said: Repent, 
&c, he meant that the whole earthly life of his believers 
should be a (continual) repentance. 

2. And this word neither can nor may be understood of the 
sacrament of penance, that is, of confession and satisfaction, 
which are exercised through the priestly office. 

3. Yet he does not mean only inward repentance, for in- 
ward repentance is useless and no repentance, if it does not 
outwardly cause all kinds of mortification of the flesh. 

4. Therefore pain continues as long as one is not pleased 
with himself, i. e., as long as he truly, inwardly repents, and 
this must be the case till he enters into heaven. 

5. The Pope neither wishes to remit nor can remit any other 
punishments, but those which he, either according to his own 
pleasure, or in accordance with the canons of the Church, has 
imposed. 

6. The Pope can forgive no sin, further than to declare and 
confirm what is forgiven of God, unless it be in such cases 

4 49 



50 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



which he has reserved to himself; and if this were despised, 
sin would remain wholly unpardoned. 

7. God forgives no one his sin, whom He does not, (having 
first thoroughly humbled him.) at the same time, subject to the 
priest, His vicegerent. 

8. Canones paenitentiales (that is, rules for confessing and 
doing penance) have been imposed only upon the living, and 
according to the same canons are not to be imposed upon the 
dying. 

9. Therefore, it is an influence of the Holy Ghost in the Pope 
for our good, that the latter, in his decretals, (or commands,) 
always excepts the article of death and of extreme need. 

10. Those priests act foolishly and wickedly, who, in case of 
persons dying, defer poBnitentias canonicas, (penances imposed 
by church regulations,) to purgatory. 

11. This need of changing the punishment of the church into 
the punishment of purgatory, seems to have sprung up whilst 
the bishops were asleep. 

12. In former times, the church imposed punishments not 
before but after absolution, in order to see whether repentance 
and sorrow were sincere or not. 

13. The dying discharge all debts by their death ; and now 
being dead, to all proper canons, they are justly freed from 
them. 

20, The Pope does not, by the complete remission of all 
punishment, mean that all punishment whatever is remitted, 
but only that which he himself has imposed. 

21. Therefore the preachers of indulgences err when they 
say, that through the indulgence of the Pope, a man is freed 
from all punishment and will be saved. 

24. Therefore, the great mass of the people must necessarily 
be deceived by means of the pompous promise concerning the 
paid-for punishment, since no difference whatever is stated. 

25. The same power which the Pope exercises over purga- 
tory in general, is exercised in particular by each bishop and 
pastor in his diocese and parish. 

26. It is very well in the Pope, that he does not, from the 
power of the keys, which he has not, but by way of interces- 
sion forgive souls (in purgatory) their sins. 

27. Those preach the vain fancies of men, who pretend, that 
as soon as the coin tingles in the box, so soon the soul is de- 
livered (from purgatory). 



THE TIME OF THE FISST TESTIMONY. 



51 



28. This is certain, that as soon as the coin tingles in the 
box, gain and avarice increase ; but the help (or intercession) 
of the Church is in the pleasure of God, 

30. No one is certain whether he has sufficiently experienced 
true repentance and sorrow, much less can he be certain that 
he has obtained perfect forgiveness of sin. 

31. Just as seldom as there is one that experiences true re^ 
pentance and sorrow, so seldom too is there any one that ob- 
tains true indulgence, that is to say, there is very seldom one 
to be found* 

32. Those, as well as their teachers, will be given over to 
Satan, who because of their letters of indulgence, consider 
themselves certain of their salvation. 

33. We are carefully to beware and be on our guard against 
those, who say : That the indulgence of the Pope is the greatest 
and most precious divine grace or gift, by which man is recon- 
ciled to God, 

34. For the grace granted by indulgences, refers only to the 
punishment of satisfaction, which is required by men. 

35. It is unchristian to pretend, that those who wish to de- 
liver souls from purgatory or to purchase certificates of confes- 
sion, need no repentance or sorrow. 

36. Every Christian, who truly repents of his sins and is 
sorry on account of them, has complete forgiveness of punish- 
ment and debt, and ought to have it too without a letter of in- 
dulgence. 

37. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, is partaker 
of all the blessings of Christ and of the Church, through the 
gift of God, and that too without a letter of indulgence. 

38. Yet the forgiveness or dispensation of the Pope is by no 
means to be despised, for, as I have said, his forgiveness is a 
declaration of the Divine forgiveness. 

39. It is beyond measure difficult, even for the most learned 
theologians, to commend to the people, both the riches of in- 
dulgences and likewise true repentance and sorrow. 

40. True repentance seeks and loves punishment, but indul- 
gences in their abundance deliver from it, and cause men ta 
hate it, at least, on occasion. 

41. In preaching of papal indulgences, caution must be used, 
that the common people may not falsely suppose, that in- 
dulgences are to be preferred to other good works of love. 

42. Christians are to be taught that the Pope's intention is 



52 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY » 



not to have the purchasing of indulgences in any way consider- 
ed equal to works of mercy. 

43. Christians are to be taught that he, who relieves the poor 
or the needy, does more good than he who purchases indul- 
gences. 

44. For by works of love, love is increased and man becomes 
more pious ; by indulgences, however, he becomes no better, 
but only more free from punishment. 

45. Christians are to be taught that he who sees his neigh- 
bour in need, and instead of relieving him purchases indul- 
gences, does not obtain the indulgence of the Pope, but brings 
upon himself God's displeasure. 

46. Christians are to be taught that it is their duty, to retain 
as much of their possessions as is necessary for the support of 
their families, and not, unless they are abundantly able, to 
expend anything for indulgences. 

47. Christians are to be taught that the purchasing of in- 
dulgences is an optional matter and not made obligatory. 

48. Christians are to be taught that as the Pope needs sin- 
cere prayer more, so he likewise desires it more than money, 
when he distributes indulgences. 

49. Christians are to be taught, that the indulgences of the 
Pope are good, provided one does not place his confidence in 
them, but that, on the other hand, nothing is more injurious, 
than, in consequence of them, to lose the fear of God. 

50. Christians are to be taught, that if the Pope knew of the 
flaying practised by the preachers of indulgences, he would 
much rather see St. Peter's Cathedral burnt to the ground, than 
to have it erected with, the skin, flesh and bone of his sheep. 

52. To trust to letters of indulgences for salvation, is trusting 
to vanity and falsehood, even though the commissary or the 
Pope himself should give his soul in pledge for it. 

53. Those are enemies of Christ and of the Pope, who, to 
favour the preaching of indulgences, wholly forbid the preach- 
ing of God's Word in other churches. 

56. The treasures of the church, from which the Pope dis- 
penses indulgences, are neither distinctly enough stated, nor 
sufficiently known to the Church of Christ. 

57. That they are not temporal things is evident, because 
many preachers do not so readily give these away, but much 
rather amass them. 

58. Neither are they the merits of Christ or of the saints, for 



THE TIME OP THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 53 

these, without the additions of the Pope, always produce grace 
for the inner man, and the cross, death and hell, for the out- 
ward man. 

60. We say, without presumption, that these treasures con- 
sist in the keys of the Church, granted for the sake of the 
merits of Christ. 

61. For it is evident, that, for the remission of punishment 
in reserved cases, the Pope's power suffices. 

62. The real and true treasure of the Church is the most Holy 
Gospel of the majesty and grace of God. 

63. But this treasure is naturally the most hated, for it makes 
the first to be the last. 

64. The treasure of indulgences, on the other hand, is natu- 
rally the most acceptable, because it makes the last to be the first. 

65. Therefore the treasures of the Gospel are nets, with 
which in times past the people of mammon were caught. 

66. But the treasures of indulgences are nets, with which, 
at the present time, the mammon of the people is caught. 

67. The indulgences, which the preachers represent as a 
great blessing, are truly to be considered a great blessing, in so 
far as they are productive of great profit. 

68. And yet they are of the smallest account compared with 
the grace of God and the piety of the cross. 

69. The bishops and pastors are bound to show all due re- 
spect and to grant admission to the commissaries of the Apos- 
tolical indulgences. 

70. But much more are they bound with eyes and ears to be 
on their guard, that these commissaries do not, instead of the 
Papal command, preach their own fancies. 

71. Let him that speaks against the truth of the Apostolical 
indulgences, be anathema and accursed. 

72. But let him that is concerned because of the mischiev- 
ous and impudent language of the indulgence-preachers, be 
blessed. 

73. As the Pope justly visits, with his displeasure and ex- 
communication those who by any dishonest acts injure the sale 
of indulgences ; 

74. So much more is he meant to visit with his displeasure 
and excommunication, those, who, under the pretence of indul- 
gences, do injury to the cause of holy love and truth. 

75. To esteem the indulgences of the Pope so high, as to say, 
that he could absolve a man, even though the latter had — to 



54 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



mention an impossibility — deflowered the mother of God, is 
madness. 

76. We, in opposition, say, that the Pope's indulgences are 
not able to take away the very smallest daily sin, as far as its 
guilt is concerned. 

77. Their saying that St. Peter, if he were Pope now, could 
not bestow greater blessing, is blasphemy against St. Peter and 
the Pope. 

78. We, in opposition, say, that even the present and every 
Pope, has greater blessings, namely, the Gospel, powers and 
gifts to heal, &c, as 1 Cor. 12. 

79. To say that the cross erected with the Pope's armorial 
bearing splendidly adorning it, can accomplish as much as the 
cross of Christ, is blasphemy against God. 

80. The bishops, pastors and theologians, who permit such 
speeches to be made to the people, will have to render an ac- 
count for it. 

81. Such impudent preaching concerning indulgences, makes 
it difficult even for the learned, to defend the honour and dig- 
nity of the Pope against the slanders or at least the pointed 
questions of the common people. 

82. As for instance : Why does not the Pope, for the sake of 
most holy love, and because of the extreme need of the souls, 
which forms the most urgent reason, at once deliver all souls 
from purgatory, whilst yet, for the sake of pitiable money, in 
order to erect St. Peter's Church, which forms a most insignifi- 
cant reason, he delivers innumerable souls ? 

87. Again : What does the Pope forgive or what does he dis- 
tribute to those, who, through true repentance, are already en- 
titled to forgiveness and indulgences ? 

90. To silence these very pointed inquiries of laymen by a 
resort to mere force, instead of solving them by giving evident 
reasons and cause, is to make the Church and the Pope a 
laughing-stock to their enemies, and to render Christians 
wretched. 

91. Therefore, if indulgences were preached according to the 
wish and the intention of the Pope, these objections could 
easily be answered, and indeed would never have been raised. 

92. Therefore, may all those prophets perish, who say to the 
Church of Christ: Peace, peace, whilst there is no peace. 

93. But may it be well with those prophets who say to the 
Church of Christ: Cross, cross, and yet it is no cross. 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



55 



94. Christians must be exhorted to follow after Christ their 
head, through affliction, death and hell. 

95. And therefore must expect to enter into heaven more 
through tribulation than false peace. 

The following protestation forms the conclusion : 
"I, Dr. Martin Luther, Augustine at Wittenberg, hereby 
publicly acknowledge, that I have published several theses 
against the so-called Papal indulgences. And though, thus 
far, neither this, our highly-renowned university, nor any 
spiritual or temporal authority has condemned me ; there yet, 
as I understand, are some forward and conceited persons, who, 
as if they were perfectly acquainted with the matter, venture 
to publish me as a heretic. Therefore, I now again, as 1 have 
often done before, beg one and all, for the sake of the Christian 
faith, either to show me a better way, if, perhaps, such has 
been revealed to them from above, or, at least, to subject their 
opinion to the judgment of God, and of the Church. For I am 
not so mad as to prefer my own views to all others, but not so 
foolish either, as to prefer the fables, which human reason has 
invented, to the Word of God." 

On the very same evening, Luther wrote a letter to the arch- 
bishop of Mentz, complaining to him of the errors which the 
common people were imbibing from the sermons on indul- 
gences, the latter being sold in the country around under the 
name and the title of the bishop. " Alas ! good God ! " he says, 
" in this way, the souls which are committed to the care of 
your reverence, are led to perdition ; and the account which 
your reverence has to render for all these, daily becomes 
greater and more severe. Therefore, I could no longer keep 
silence in reference to these things, for the office of a bishop 
does not make a man sure of his salvation, since even the grace 
of God infused into him does not make him sure ; wherefore, 
too, the apostle exhorts us, at all times, to work out our salva- 
tion with fear and trembling ; and Peter says : The righteous 
scarcely are saved. Yea, so narrow is the way that leads to 
life, that the Lord, through the prophets Amos and Zechariah, 
calls those that are saved a brand plucked out of the fire. And 
the Lord himself, too, everywhere declares it to be difficult to 
obtain salvation. What danger and terror must, therefore, 
await a bishop who permits indulgences with great pomp to be 
published among the people ; but suffers everything else, the 
Gospel too, to be neglected, thus showing that he is much more 



56 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



concerned about indulgences than about the Gospel ! Will not 
Christ say to such : You that strain out a gnat and swallow a 
camel ! To this, most reverend father in God, must be added, 
that in the instruction published for the commissaries under 
the name of your reverence, it is said, (doubtless, most reverend 
father, without your knowledge and consent,) that the invalu- 
able gift of God, (indulgences, namely.) is one of the principal 
means of grace, whereby man is reconciled to God, and all 
punishments of purgatory are extinguished ; as likewise, that 
those have no need of repentance, who purchase soul and 
shrove-tickets. But, reverend bishop and most serene elector, 
what else shall I do than pray your reverence through our 
Lord Jesus Christ, that your electoral grace would with pa- 
rental care consider this matter, and entirely abolish this in- 
struction, command the indulgence-preachers to publish indul- 
gences in a different way. lest, perhaps, finally some one arise 
and in a public writing refute both the indulgence-preachers 
and the instruction, to the great dishonour of your most serene 
highness ; the thought of which disturbs me exceedingh r , and 
yet, I fear it will so happen, if the matter is not quickly at- 
tended to. This my faithful and humble service I beg your 
most serene grace to accept with princely and episcopal, that 
is, with exceeding kindness, as it proceeds from an entirely 
faithful heart, which is wholly devoted to your reverence, 
especially because I too am a sheep of your flock." In a post- 
script, he adds : " If your lordship please, you might examine 
and read these statements concerning indulgences, that you 
may know how the fancy about indulgences is altogether an 
uncertain thing, though the indulgence-preachers publish them 
as something which may be perfectly relied upon." 

At the same time with the theses, Luther published a sermon 
on " indulgences and grace." 2 In this he says : That some new 
teachers divided repentance into three parts, namely: contrition, 
confession, and satisfaction, indulgences being designed to take 
away the third part or satisfaction, which is imposed upon men 
because of sin, and many even had the idea that indulgences 
would take away something more than such imposed good 
works, that they namely likewise took away the punishment 
which Divine Justice demands for sin. 

In opposition to this Luther says : It cannot be proved from 
the Scriptures, that Divine Justice desires or demands of the sin- 
ner, any suffering or satisfaction, excepting only heartfelt and 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



57 



true contrition and conversion, with the resolution, in future to 
bear the cross of Christ, and to practise the above-named 
works, even though not imposed by any one. For thus He 
says through Ezekiel : If the sinner turn from his way and do 
that which is right, I will not remember his sin any more. 
Thus He has likewise himself absolved all the following : 
Mary Magdalene, the paralytic, the adulteress, &c. And I 
would like to know, who can prove the contrary of this, not- 
withstanding that some doctors have fancied the contrary." 

He said, it was true, that God, in His justice, did punish 
some thus, by suffering, urging them to repent, as the 89th 
Psalm says : " If his children sin, then will I visit their trans- 
gression with the rod, nevertheless, My loving kindness will I 
not utterly take from them." But that no one had the power 
to remit this punishment, except God alone ; and that God 
would not remit it, but declared he would inflict it. That 
some new preachers had indeed invented two kinds of punish- 
ment, one for satisfaction, the other for reformation ; but that 
this was mere babbling, since all punishment, and everything 
imposed by God is good and profitable for Christians. That it 
was idle, too, to say, there were too many punishments and 
works, so that men, because of the shortness of life, could not 
fulfil all, and that on this account indulgences were needed ; 
for God and the holy Church did not impose more upon men 
than they are able to bear, as Paul also said, that God did not 
permit any one to be tempted above what he can bear. That 
it was greatly dishonouring Christianity to accuse it of im- 
posing more upon us than we can bear. 

In the last half of the sermon are the following remarks : 

" In the twelfth place : we are told indeed, that the sinner 
should be directed to purgatory, or indulgences, for expiating 
the remaining punishment ; but there are more such things as- 
serted without reason or proof. 

" In the thirteenth place : it is a great error in any one, to 
think that he is able to render satisfaction for his sins, since 
God always freely, out of unbounded mercy, pardons them, de- 
siring nothing else for this, but a pious life afterwards. The 
Church, indeed, demands something, therefore it may and ought 
likewise to remit this, and not impose what is severe or insup- 
portable. 

"In the fourteenth place: indulgences are permitted on ac- 
count of imperfect and indolent Christians, who are indisposed 



58 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



with energy to exercise themselves in good works, or are im- 
patient of suffering. For indulgences do not make any one 
better, but they tolerate and endure the imperfections of men. 
Therefore, we are not to speak against indulgences, but are 
not either to dispose any one in favour of them. 

" In the fifteenth place : it would be much safer and better, 
purely for God's sake to contribute to the erection of St. Peter's 
Church or anything else of the kind, than to take indulgences 
for it. For there is danger that such an offering is made for 
the sake of the indulgences and not for God's sake. 

"In the sixteenth place: the favour shown a needy person, is 
a better work than the contribution towards the erection of a 
building, much better too than the indulgence obtained for such 
contribution. For, (as already observed.) it is better to do one 
good work than to remit many. But indulgence is a remission 
of many good works or else it remits nothing. Yea, that I may 
rightly instruct you, know that you are above all things, (re- 
gardless of St. Peter's Church or indulgences,) to give to your 
poor neighbour, if you wish to give any thing. But if it should 
be that there is no longer any one in your city who needs help, 
(which, God grant may always be,) then if you wish to contri- 
bute anything, you are to give to the churches, altars, decora- 
tions, communion-service, of your town. And when here too 
there is no longer any need, then, and only then, you may, if so 
disposed, give towards St. Peter's Church or something else. 
But yet you are not to do this in order to obtain indulgences. 
For St. Paul says : He, that does not do good to those of his 
own house, is no Christian, but is worse than a heathen. And 
be you perfectly sure of this ; he, that teaches you differently, 
deceives you or seeks for your soul in your purse, and if he finds 
money in it, it will please him more than all souls together. 
You reply : Then I shall never purchase indulgences. I an- 
swer : I have above already declared it as my wish, desire, 
prayer and advice, that no one purchase indulgences. Let in- 
dolent and sleepy Christians purchase indulgences, but do you 
pursue the course that is right. 

"In the seventeenth place: indulgences are neither command- 
ed nor recommended, but are numbered among things which 
are permitted and allowed. Therefore they are not a work of 
obedience, nor do they merit anything, but are a remission of 
obedience. Therefore though we cannot prevent any one from 
purchasing them, yet we ought to draw all Christians away 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



59 



from them, exciting and strengthening them to perform the 
works and penances, which indulgences remit. 

" In the eighteenth place : whether souls are delivered from 
purgatory by means of indulgences ; I do not know, and do not 
yet believe it either, although some new doctors say so, but it 
is impossible for them to substantiate it, neither has the 
Church yet declared it. Therefore, to have certainty on your 
side, it is better that you yourself pray and labour for them, 
for this is more substantiated and is sure. 

" In the nineteenth place : in reference to these points, I have 
no doubt, and they are sufficiently grounded in the Scriptures. 
For the same reason, you are to have no doubt, but are to suffer 
scholastic doctors to be scholastics ; they are, all put together, 
with their opinions, not sufficient to confirm one sermon. 

** In the twentieth place : though some now do, indeed, de- 
nounce me as a heretic, because these truths operate very in- 
juriously upon their money-boxes, yet I~pa>y hut little attention 
to their bawlings, inasmuch as none do this but men of be- 
clouded brains, who have never had a scent of the Bible, have 
never read the Christian doctrines, never understood their own 
teachers, and will very soon moulder away amidst their decay- 
ing and tattered opinions. For if they had understood these, 
they would know, that they ought not to condemn any one un- 
heard and unvanquished. But may Gojd grant both them and 
us the right mind. Amen." 

This was the beginning of the controversy, and at that time 
Luther did not yet dream of a future change in the ceremonies 
of the Church, did not even altogether reject indulgences, but 
insisted only upon restricting the abuse. What he himself af- 
terwards thought of this first step, is seen from his preface to 
the new edition of the Theses, published a number of years 
after. In this he says : 

" I consent to the publication of the disputations and proposi- 
tions, which, in the beginning of my cause, I held and advanced 
against indulgences ; and this, especially for the purpose, 
that the greatness and happy progress of this cause, which in 
time has followed from it being granted me by God, may not 
lift me up and make me vain. For these propositions publicly 
point out my disgrace, that is, my great weakness and ignorance, 
which in the beginning caused me to begin this business with 
great fear and trembling. I had become involved in this dis- 
pute alone, and from inconsiderateness, and because I could not 



60 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



recede, I not only in many and important points yielded much 
to the Pope, but willingly, too, worshipped him with real sin- 
cerity. For who was I, a poor, despised brother, who, at that 
time, more resembled a corpse than a living being, to oppose 
myself to the majesty of the Pope, of whom not only the kings 
of the earth and the whole world, but likewise heaven and hell 
(so to speak) stood in awe, being obliged to follow exclusively 
his bidding. How, and in what manner, my heart suffered and 
endured that same first and second year, and in what humility, 
which was not false and feigned, but real ; or I should rather 
say, in what despair I then constantly lived, of that, alas ! those 
secure souls know little, who afterwards, with great self-con- 
ceit and audacity, assailed the majesty of the Pope. But I. who 
stood alone involved in the danger, was not so joyous, confident 
and sure of the cause. For then I did not know much, which, 
thank God, I know now. And because the dead and mute 
teachers, that is, the books of the theologians and jurists, could 
not sufficiently inform me, I was desirous to obtain advice of 
the living, and to hear the Church of God itself. There were 
indeed many pious men, who were greatly pleased with my 
propositions, thinking much of them ; but it was impossible for 
me to regard and consider them members of the Church, gifted 
with the Holy Ghost, for I looked alone to the Pope, the cardi- 
nals, bishops, theologians, jurists, monks and priests. From 
thence I looked for the spirit, for I had so greedily received 
their doctrines, that I had in consequence become quite stupid, 
and was not sensible, whether I was asleep or awake. And 
having with the Scriptures overcome all the arguments that 
opposed my progress, I finally, with great anxiety, trouble asd 
labour, through the grace of Christ, scarcely overcame this, 
namely, that we must hear the Church. For I regarded the 
Church of the Pope as the true Church, with much greater 
earnestness and genuine reverence, (proceeding from the 
heart,) than these base blasphemous perverters, who so highly 
praise the Church of the Pope in opposition to me." 

Authorities. — Myconius and Mathesius (as before). — The Theses 
in the Latin original, (in Loscher, vol. 1, p. 438.) and in the German 
translation of Justus Jonas, in all the editions, (Leipz. vol. 17, p. 1.) — 
The sermon in Loscher, p. 469. Luther's Works, vol. 17, p. 119. — 
Letter No. 42, Melanchth., p. 16, sq. — Luther's Works, vol. 22, app. 
p. 154. 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 61 

Notes. — 1.) The anniversary of the dedication of the castle-church 
or cathedral at Wittenberg, as a Church of All Saints, occurred on the 
first of November, on which day many people flocked in from all parts. 
The theses, according to academical custom, were posted up the day pre- 
vious, (Vigiliis Omnium Sanctorum,) and (according to Curseus in his 
Schles. Chronikon, I. 241), precisely at twelve o'clock at noon. The 
account of the remarkable dream, which the elector is said to have had 
during this night, is based upon the report of the trustworthy superin- 
tendent, Antonius Musa, who says he heard the matter from Spalatin. 
Vid. Loscher, vol. 1, ch.21. 

2.) This sermon had perhaps already been delivered before the pub- 
lication of the theses, (Vid. above, B. 2, ch. 8,) but judging from Luther's 
words : " Simul et Germanicum, concionem de indulgentiis edidi," it 
must have appeared in print at the same time with the theses, though no 
edition of the year 1517 is extant now. 

CHAPTER 17. 

THE RECEPTION OF THE 95 THESES. 

It was neither the design nor the wish of Luther to give an 
-extensive circulation to his Theses ; he wished only to discuss 
them with the few that resided near him, in order, if by a de- 
cision of the majority they were rejected, to destroy them, or, if 
approved, to publish them. But, before two weeks were elapsed, 
they had spread through the id hole of Germany, and, in four 
weeks, nearly through the whole of Christendom ; as if the angels 
themselves had been the carriers, and conveyed the message to 
the ears of all. It is almost incredible what a sensation they 
produced. They were soon translated into German, and every 
body was pleased with the matter, excepting only the Domini- 
cans, the Bishop at Halle, and a few others, who derived their 
daily support from the Pope, valiantly profiting by the earthly 
treasures which he had collected. 

The pious among the monks, who hoped by a monastic life 
to obtain salvation, and who, with suspicion, still continually 
bore in mind the affair of Constance, joyfully received this short 
writing ; as we are told of the pious monk, Dr. Fleck, who 
assisted in dedicating the University of Wittenberg, delivering 
n sermon on the occasion, and prophesying that all the world 
would come and obtain wisdom at this Weissenberg. This 
monk, on beholding the propositions posted up in the saloon of 
his cloister at Steinlausig, and having read some little therein, 
joyfully exclaimed : " Ho ! ho ! This is the man that will ac- 



62 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



complish it : he, for whom we have long been waiting, is coiii^ 
ing ! " In accordance with which he, too, wrote a very com- 
forting letter to Dr. Luther, on this subject, and exhorted him 
fearlessly to proceed, as being in the right way ; God, and the 
prayers of all the captives in the Roman Babylon, would be 
with him. 

The renowned Dr. Albert Kranz, of Hamburg, was not confi- 
dent of success ; who, while lying on a bed of disease, a few 
days previous to his death received the Theses of Luther, ex- 
claimed : " Thou hadst better betake thyself to thy cell, thou 
good brother, and pray : Lord, have mercy on me V* by which 
he wished to intimate that so great an undertaking of an in- 
significant monk against the Pope, whose power and authority 
were dreaded by the greatest sovereigns, must necessarily end 
in disgrace. An aged clergyman of Hexter, in Westphalia,- 
expressed himself to the same effect : " My dear brother Mar- 
tin, if you can storm and hurl away purgatory and the papal 
indulgence-trade, you are truly a great man !" Luther's prior 
and sub-prior, likewise, at that time, when all the world was 
astonished, thinking things were carried too far, came to him, 
in great alarm at the cry of opposition, and begged him not to 
bring reproach upon the order, inasmuch as the other orders, 
especially the Dominicans, were already leaping for joy, that 
they were not alone in disgrace^ but that the Augustines, too^ 
would now have to burn and bear reproach. But Luther an- 
swered and said : " Beloved fathers, if this business has not 
been begun in the name of God, it will soon come to an end, 
but if it has been begun in his name, then let Him direct it." 
At this they were silent, as Luther himself afterwards related, 
and matters still progress to this moment, and shall, with the 
help of God, continue much better to the end, Amen. So, like- 
wise, he wrote to John Lange, and defended himself against 
the reproaches of the Erfurt theologians : " This humility, (I 
should say hypocrisy,) they ought not to expect of me ; that, 
before I publish anything, I first obtain their advice and com- 
mand, Whatever I do, shall be done, not because of men, bur 
because of the advice and command of God. For, if the work 
is of God, who will hinder it? But if it is not of God, who will 
sustain it ? Not my, not their, not our, but Thy will be done, 
holy Father, who art in heaven. Amen.'* 

Yet it did not at all please Luther to see his Theses printed 
so often and circulated so extensively, wherefore, too, he re- 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



63 



pented of this work, not as though he objected to the truth be- 
coming known and spreading among the people, for this was 
precisely what he designed ; but he did not consider this the 
proper way and manner to instruct the people. For, on some 
points, he himself was yet undecided, and many things he 
would have maintained quite differently and much more dis- 
tinctly> or have left them away entirely, if he had anticipated 
such a result. But now he was obliged to think of the further 
exposition or substantiation of his Theses; could not, however, 
publish it, as he had first to await the decision of the Bishop of 
Brandenburg, Hieronymus Scultetus, who was favourably dis- 
posed towards him. The latter had (in November, 1517,) sent 
to him the abbot of the cloister of Lenin, with a letter, and in- 
formed him of his wish and prayer that Luther would, for a 
short time longer, delay the publication of his substantiation, 
as well as of other works which he might have in hand. He 
further expressed himself very much dissatisfied with the pub- 
lication of the German sermon on indulgences, and wished 
earnestly that it might not be further printed and circulated. 
Luther, feeling ashamed and surprised that such a bishop 
should, so condescendingly and wholly because of this business, 
send so respectable an abbot to him, said : " I willingly comply, 
I will rather obey than work miracles, even if I could do so," 
&c. Yet the Bishop did not accuse Luther of any error, but 
declared everything to be orthodox, and did himself condemn 
the unbecoming commendations of indulgences. He was of 
opinion, however, that, in order not to give offence, Luther 
ought, for a time, to keep silence and wait. 

But the cry of unmannerly men made it daily more neces- 
sary for Luther to publish his substantiation ; as in all their 
sermons they denounced him as a heretic, and went so far in 
their rage, as, on his account, to disparage even the University 
of Wittenberg, and to fasten upon it the charge of heresy. He. 
indeed, considered it a disgrace to contend with them, so ut- 
terly destitute of all divine and human knowledge were they, 
and he would rather altogether have despised them, if he had 
not feared to sin against Christ by doing so. Only one thing 
greatly disturbed him, that those blasphemers, namely, and 
with them many others, said that the whole business proceeded 
from the Elector, and that envy against the Archbishop of 
Mentz had induced him to employ Luther for this purpose. 
The latter had, indeed, apprehended this, and therefore had 



64 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



been unwilling to have the Theses come into the hands either 
of the Elector or any of his courtiers, until they had first been 
read by those who might, perhaps, feel themselves aggrieved 
by them. On the 15th of February, 1518, he accordingly 
wrote to Spalatin: " I pray you, advise me what to do, ought" 
the matter to be made known to the Elector ? It vexes me ex- 
ceedingly that the Elector is involved in suspicion on my ac- 
count, and it causes me fear and dread to think that I am to 
be made the cause of a difference between these distinguished 
princes." 

But the Elector, so concerned for the common peace, and far 
from being litigious, had neither employed Luther nor applaud- 
ed him ; he much rather often expressed his fears, that greater 
disturbances might be the result. But as a wise prince, he 
gave heed not only to the temporal consideration, which would 
have all innovations crushed in their birth, but he likewise 
sought direction from God's word, which commands us to hear 
the Gospel, and not to resist the acknowledged truth, calling 
such obstinate resistance blasphemy, which God will most se- 
verely punish. He accordingly did what other pious and wise 
men also have done, he yielded to God, carefully read what was 
written, and did not wish to aid in suppressing- what he had 
found to be the truth. The Emperor Maximilian, too, having 
read Luther's Theses, whilst at the diet of Augsburg, in 1518, 
said to the electoral counsellor Degenhard Pfeffinger : " How 
do things fare with your monk ? Truly, his Theses are not to 
be despised. He will begin a sharp game with the priests." 
He likewise sent word to the Elector : " To take good care of 
the monk, it might happen that he would be needed." 

Authorities. — Luth. Let., No. 56, 44, 53, 54 5 47. — Mycomus, eh. 4. 
— Mathes., 2 Pred. — Davidis ChytrEei Chronikon Saxonias, etc., Rostoeh, 
1590, P. I., p. 578. — F. S. Keil, Dr. Martin Luther's merkwiirdige Le- 
bensumstande, 1764, p. 37, from the Chronico Huxariensi, p. 150. — 
L. W., vol. 6, p. 118. — Melanchth., p. 17. — Seckendorf. comm., p. 42, 
add. iii. 

CHAPTER III. 

JOURNEY TO HEIDELBERG. 

In the year 1518 the order of the Augustines had issued a pro- 
clamation for a convention to be held at Heidelberg. Luther 
was dissuaded on all sides from attending it, lest his enemies 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



65 



might, perhaps, by treachery, accomplish against him what 
they could not obtain by main force ; for the indulgence- 
preachers fulminated their anathemas against him at a fearful 
rate, threatening that not more than from two to four weeks 
would elapse before he would certainly be burnt alive. But 
he did what obedience to his order required, and (somewhere 
about the Sunday Quasimodogeniti) set out on his journey, on 
foot, being accompanied by a messenger named Urbanus. In 
Weissenfels he was kindly received and hospitably entertained 
by the pastor there, a Wittenberg Magister, with whom he 
had been personally unacquainted. At Judenbach he met the 
electoral counsellor Pfeffinger, who paid the expenses at the 
inn for him and his fellow-travellers. Very much fatigued — 
there being no conveyance to be had — he, on the 15th of April, 
arrived at Coburg, and on the 18th at Wiirzburg, where he, on 
the same evening, delivered to the Bishop, Laurentius von 
Bibra 1 , a letter of recommendation from the elector. The 
Bishop admitted him into his presence, conversed with him, 
and offered to send a messenger with him to Heidelberg ; but 
Luther, who here had met several brethren of his order, among 
others the prior of Erfurt, John Lange, and wished, as he was 
greatly fatigued by walking, to proceed with them in their 
conveyance, thanked him, and, requesting only a safe-conduct, 
took his departure on the 19th. At Heidelberg he lodged in 
the cloister of the Augustines, but was very splendidly received 
by the Count Palatine Wolfgang ; for the latter invited him, 
Staupitz and Lange to his table, and showed them through 
the whole of the princely castle, pointing out all that there 
was valuable in it. But Magister Jacob Simmler, at the court 
of the Count Palatine, could not sufficiently admire the electo- 
ral letter of recommendation, saying in his Neckarian dialect : 
"Ihr habt by Gott einen kystlichen Credenz" (Truly you have 
most excellent credentials.) 

Whilst Luther was thus, on business of his order, remaining 
at Heidelberg, arrangements were made for holding a dispu- 
tation in the saloon of the Augustines. For this purpose 
Luther had prepared twenty-eight theses on theological, and 
twelve on philosophical points. In them he treated of free- 
will after the fall, of grace, of faith, of justification and of 
good works, at the same time combatting Aristotle. 2 This dis- 
putation attracted a great concourse of people, not only of stu- 
dents, but also of citizens and courtiers ; and not only learned 

5 



66 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



monks took part in the discussion, but likewise the theological 
professors, who, at that time, taught at Heidelberg. And 
although to these Luther's theology seemed strange, they yet 
disputed against it with much modesty, acuteness and ability, 
with the exception of the fifth, a young doctor, who excited the 
whole audience to laughter by saying : " If the farmers heard 
that, they would stone you to death." Among the audience 
there were likewise Martin Bucer, John Brenz, Erhard Schnepf, 
Theobald Billicanus, and other afterwards renownedtheologians 
who admired Luther's acuteness, ability and meekness, intro- 
duced themselves to him after the discussion, seeking further 
instruction on some points which they had not fully understood. 3 
This was especially the case with Martin Bucer, who at that 
time was no longer among the number of the students, but 
upon the recommendation of Francis von Sickingen, had been 
appointed chaplain to the Count Palatine, Frederick. Being 
very expert in writing, he had noted down most of what Luther 
had said. He now treated more at large on these matters with 
Luther, and made inquiries concerning many things ; in return 
he received candid and satisfactory answers, which he likewise 
noted down. Concerning these matters he then wrote to his 
countryman, the learned Beatus Rhenanus, of Schlettstadt : 
" During a convention of his order held at our place, Luther 
presided at a learned discussion, and maintained theses which 
not only took higher ground than all had anticipated, but 
seemed mostly, too, to be heretical. He possesses an admira- 
ble suavity in replying, and great patience in listening; in 
solving objections one discovers in him more the acuteness of 
Paul than that of Scotus ; for by his short answers, drawn 
from the treasure of the Holy Scriptures, he has filled all with 
admiration. With Erasmus he has everything in common, but 
excels him in this, that he teaches openly what the former only 
hiddenly intimates." 

The Count Palatine in his reply to the Elector testified of 
Luther : " He has so skilfully disputed here, that it has gained 
for your beloved university no little honour ; many learned 
men too have praised him very highly." 

Luther's superiors insisted on his returning with the Nurem- 
berg brethren of his order, in their conveyance, as far as Wiirz- 
burg, thence to Erfurt with the Erfurters, and thence again 
with his Eisleben* brethren, who, at their expense, had him 
conveyed to Wittenberg, where he safely arrived on the 13th 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



67 



of May, seeming to many to have become healthier and 
stronger. 

Authorities. — Luther's Let., No. 58, 62, 63, 65. — Henriei Altingii 
Narrat. de eccl. Palatt. in Seckend., com. I., § XIII., add. 1 ; likewise 
Abr. Sculteti Annales Evang., p. 22. — Tenzel, vol. 1, p. 331. 

Notes. — 1.) This Bishop was an exceedingly upright and sensible 
man. He was on very intimate terms with the Elector, and shortly 
before his death (1519) wrote to the latter: "I pray your love, by no 
means to permit that pious man, Dr. Martin, to depart ; for they do him 
injustice." 

2. ) The Theses, together with the substantiation (probationes reso- 
lutiones) which, according to the custom of the time, was written after- 
wards, are to be found in Loscher, vol. 2, ch. 4. 

3. ) This disputation is of such importance in Luther's history on 
this very account, that through it those young men, who afterwards be- 
came active co-labourers in the work of the Reformation, and in part 
intimate friends of Luther, received their first impulse. 



CHAPTER IV. 

DEFENCE OF THE 95 THESES. 

Soon after his return from Heidelberg, that is, on the 22d 
May, Luther transmitted to the Bishop of Brandenburg, and on 
the 30th May, through Staupitz, to Pope Leo X., the further 
exposition (called Resolutiones or Probationes) of his Theses, 
(ch. 2 1 ). He repeatedly explained how he came to publish his 
Theses-, and that it neither had been nor was then his intention 
positively to affirm anything, but only to investigate. He be- 
sought the Bishop to strike out whatever he saw fit, and 
added, as far as he was concerned, he might even burn the 
whole, for that he well knew Christ did not need his assistance. 
To the Pope he writes more particularly : that he had pub- 
lished this exposition in his name, that all might see how 
sincerely he respected the power of the Church and the 
authority of the keys, and how unjustly and falsely his oppo- 
nents were abusing him, and then concluded : " Therefore, 
most holy father, I cast myself at thy feet with all that I have 
and am. Whether now thou makest alive or killest, decidrst 
for or against me, approvest or rejectest, as it seemeth good to 
thee, I shall acknowledge thy voice as the voice of Christ, 
whose vicegerent thou art, and who speaks through thee. If I 
have deserved death I refuse not to die ; for the earth is the 



68 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



Lord's and the fulness thereof. To him be praise forever. 
Amen." In his letter to Staupitz, to whom he wrote, that of 
him he had first learned what repentance was ; he likewise 
said, that he looked for the decision of Christ in the decision of 
the Roman See, but added : " As to the rest, I have nothing to 
oppose to the threats of my enemies but that saying of Reuch- 
lin's : 4 He that is poor has nothing to fear and nothing to lose/ 
Property I have none, honour and renown, if ever I have had 
them, he continually loses who has once begun to lose them. 
One thing yet remains to me, this weak body, worn down by 
incessant affliction. If they either by violence or treachery 
take this from me, thinking by that to do God service, they 
make me the poorer perhaps for one or two hours of my life. 
I have enough in my dear Redeemer and Mediator, my Lord Jesus 
Christ. I will sing praise to Him as long as I live. But if any 
one will not sing along with me, what does that concern me ? 
Let him then howl by himself." 

In this exposition Luther says of some of his Theses that he 
will maintain and substantiate them, but of others that he 
wishes only to discuss them in order to obtain instruction. The 
first Thesis (see above) he proved firstly, from the Greek word 
peTccveetre, repent ye, which, strictly speaking, can be translated 
transmentamini, i. e. be changed in your disposition and un- 
derstanding, be again wise, turn away from your former dis- 
positions and spirit, and be transformed in respect to them, by 
henceforth being heavenly-minded whilst before you were 
earthly-minded, which the apostle, Rom. 12, expresses thus : 
" Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind," which 
again becoming wise takes place so, that the sinner enters into 
himself and hates his sins. But there can be no doubt that 
this again becoming wise or hating of one's self is to continue 
through the whole of our life, according to the passage : " He 
that hates his life in this world, preserves it to eternal life." 
And again : " He that does not take his cross and follow after 
me is not worthy of me." And in the same place : " I am not 
come to send peace, but the sword." And Matt. 5: "Blessed 
are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." — " In the 
second place I support this Thesis too, with an argument from 
reason. Because Christ is a teacher of the spirit and not of 
the letter, and because his words are spirit and life, he of 
necessity must teach such a repentance, which takes place in 
spirit and in truth, and not such a one, which even the 



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69 



proudest hypocrites can outwardly perform, by contorting 
their countenances during their fasts, by praying at the 
corners of the streets, and having trumpets sounded before 
them, when they give aims, Christ, I say must teach such a 
repentance which can take place in all conditions of life, 
which the king can exercise in his purple, the priest in his 
attire, the prince in his dignity, no less than the monk or beg- 
gar in his ceremonies and poverty, just as Daniel and his asso- 
ciates did in the midst of Babylon, For Christ's doctrines 
must suit all men, that is, men of all stations. Thirdly : We 
pray and must pray as long as we live : Forgive us our sins ; 
consequently we, as long as we live, repent, and are displeased 
with ourselves, unless any one could be so foolish as to sup- 
pose that he must ask forgiveness merely for appearance' sake ; 
for the sins, the forgiveness of which we are commanded to 
pray for, are real and not trifling sins. And although they 
are venial, jet we cannot be saved unless they are forgiven." 

In opposition to " the troublesome and unprofitable art of 
confessing, or rather the art to bring souls to despair and hurl 
them to destruction, in accordance with which we have thus 
far been taught to count sand, that is, carefully to investigate, 
collect, and weigh each and every sin, in order, in this way, to 
produce repentance," he teaches, (in the 26th Conelus.,) " that 
the beginning of true repentance must be made with the good- 
ness and blessings of God, especially with the wounds of Christ, 
in order that men may, from a consideration of God's goodness, 
be first brought to a knowledge of their ingratitude, and from 
this to a hatred of themselves and to a love of God's goodness. 
Then they will shed tears and sincerely hate themselves, yet 
without despairing ; they will hate sin, not on account of the 
punishment, but from a consideration of God's goodness. Ia 
this way it will come to pass, that if they truly repent of one 
sin, they will at the same time repent of all. Thus it is said in 
the Epistle to the Romans, 2 ch. : ' Knowest thou not that the 
goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance ? ' O, thou holy 
Paul, how many do not know this, even pf such who teach 
others I " 

In reference to the 37th Thesis, he says : " It is impossible 
for any one to be a Christian, without having Christ. If he has 
Christ, he likewise has everything that belongs to Christ" for 
the holy apostle, Rom. 13, says : " Put on the Lord Jesus 
Christ J" and Rom. 8: "How should he with him not give us 



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all things ? " and 1 Cor. 3 : " All things are yours, whether Ce- 
phas or Paul, life or death ; " and^l Cor. 12 : " You are not 
your own, but members one of another." And in other pas- 
sages, where he shows that we are altogether one body in 
Christ, one bread, and members of one another. And in the 
Song of Solomon : " My friend is mine, and I am his, because 
through faith in Christ a Christian is made one spirit and one 
with Christ;" for: " the two shall be one flesh, which is a 
great mystery between Christ and the Church." Since, there- 
fore, the spirit of Christ is in Christians, by which they become 
brethren, joint-heirs, one body and citizens with Christ, how 
should there not, in this case, be a communion of all the bless- 
ings of Christ ? for Christ, too, has all that he has, from this 
very same spirit. Thus it comes to pass, that a Christian, 
through the unspeakable richness of the mercy of God the Fa- 
ther, can boast, and with confidence, call everything his own 
in Christ, and say : that the righteousness of Christ, his power,, 
patience, humility, as well as everything that Christ has earn- 
ed, is all his own, in virtue of the union of the spirit produced 
by faith in him. On the other hand, all his sins are now no> 
longer his, but Christ's ; for, in virtue of this same union, they 
are all swallowed up in Him. And from this springs the joy- 
ful confidence of Christians and the joyfulness of our consci- 
ence, that, through faith, our sins no longer remain ours, but 
are Christ's, upon whom God has cast all our sins, and who 
has borne our sins. He is the Lamb of God, that taketh away 
the sins of the world. Again, all the righteousness of Christ 
becomes outs. For he lays his hand upon us, and it is well 
with us, and he spreads his mantle over us and covers us, as 
our exalted Redeemer, forever. Amen." 

Concerning the 58th Thesis, he explicitly says : " Saints have 
no merits which can be of avail to any of us that are indolent and 
idle ; " and adds : " And that I may, for once, be bold, T declare, 
that of what I have now spoken, I have no doubt, and am pre- 
pared, for the sake of it, to endure fire and death, and I will 
assert, that all those are heretics, who hold the contrary doc- 
trine." 

On the other hand, he still firmly maintained the doctrine of 
purgatory, and in connexion with the 15th Thesis, said : " With 
me it is a matter of certainty, that there is a purgatory, and J 
do not pay much regard to what the heretics babble against 
it." 



THE TTME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



71 



Of the then reigning Pope he had a good opinion, as appears 
from what he said in connexion with the 25th Thesis: "We 
have, moreover, at present, a very good Pope, of whose un- 
blamable life and acquirements all well-disposed persons speak 
with joy." He immediately adds, however : " But what can 
this amiable man accomplish alone ? Truly, he deserves to 
have become Pope in better times, or else that the times of his 
pontificate were better. Good Popes are now-a-days despised 
by Rome herself. Yea, by Rome most of all ; for in what part 
of Christendom do they practise more intrigues, even with the 
Popes, than at Rome, which is the veritable Babylon" 

In the 69th Thesis he, indeed, declares, that we ought re- 
spectfully to yield to the papal authority in all points, inas- 
much as every one resisting the authorities resists the ordinance 
of God ; and the Lord himself says : " He that despises you, 
despises me!" And even if the Pope decides unjustly, we 
should still respect his decisions ; but, in order not to confuse 
the consciences of any, this is not to be understood as meaning 
that, therefore, these unjust decisions must likewise be called 
just by those that have to submit to them. " For the Pope him- 
self causes some to be put under the ban of the Church, who still 
are not on that account under the ban of God, and though the 
Pope forces them to submit to the ban, it does them no injury. 
Therefore, we must submit to unjust decisions and burdens, not 
because of the word : " Whatsoever ye shall bind," &c, but be- 
cause of that universal command : "Agree with thine adver- 
sary quickly,, whilst thou art in the way with him ;" and : " If 
any one smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other 
also," and Rom. 12 : " Revenge not yourselves." 

In connexion with the 26th Thesis, however, he says : " / 
concern myself little about it, whether anything does or does not 
please the Pope, he is a man like other men. There have been 
many popes, who have taken pleasure not only in errors and 
vices, but likewise in the most unaccountable things. I obey 
the Pope as Pope, that is, if he speaks what the canons dictate, 
and if he acts in accordance with their prescriptions, or in con- 
nexion with a council pronounces a decision ; but not, if he 
speaks only what seems good to himself merely. For else I 
would, with some that understand nothing of Christ, likewise 
be compelled to say, that Julius II., notwithstanding his atro- 
cious murders and shedding of Christian blood, still acted as a 
good shepherd, and faithfully tended the flock of Christ." . . . 



72 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



" The Pope alone cannot make new articles of faith, but can only 
according to those which are made, judge and decide questions of 
faith. But this would be a new article of faith ; and, there- 
fore, would also require to be adopted by a general council, 
and far more so than the question concerning the immaculate 
conception of the holy Virgin Mary, because by the latter the 
salvation of souls is not endangered ; but by the former, it is 
very much, since the Pope, being only as one man, who is lia- 
ble to err in faith as well as in life, the faith of the whole 
Church would be in continual danger, if everything, that seems 
good to him, would necessarily have to be believed." 

In his remarks on the 25th Thesis, he expressed the sorrow 
and grief of his soul, which he experienced, when he heard 
that such things were preached in the Church of Christ, of 
which nothing had heretofore been written or established. 
The holy Fathers, he says, had likewise, in their day, consider- 
ed nothing more dangerous than the teaching of other things 
besides the Word of God. " This I do not say from impudence 
or pride, or because I consider myself worthy to be numbered 
among the learned men of the holy Church, much less among 
those to whom it belongs to determine or to reject such things, 
(I desire only to become the humblest member of the Church ;) 
all I mean to say is simply this : That though there are both 
learned and holy men in the Church, yet the present times are 
so troublous, that even such great men can afford no help to 
the Church. For what learning and pious zeal are able to ac- 
complish at the present day, has been abundantly shown by the 
unfortunate issue of the attempts of those highly-learned and 
pious men, who, under Julius II., laboured to reform the Church, 
by a resort to a most necessary expedient, the holding of a 
council. And there have also, at times, been other learned 
and pious popes, of whom I know, but because the examples 
of such are few, the great majority have been compelled to 
keep silence. 'The times are very evil,' says Amos, 'there- 
fore the wise have to keep silence at such times.' Since the 
Church, in addition to innumerable private persons, has like- 
wise, in its highest stations, men of the greatest learning, I, too, 
ought, in imitation of their example, to have kept silence, if I 
wished to be considered wise. But it is better that the truth 
be spoken by fools, by children, by inebriates, than that it. be 
wholly suppressed ; if, possibly, the learned and wise may be- 
come more bold in their courage, when they hear that we, un- 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 73 

learned common people finally begin to sound the alarm, be- 
cause things are carried altogether too far, so that we can no 
longer look on with indifference, as Christ says : * If these are 
silent, the stones will cry out.'" 

But thereupon, he (in the 80th Thesis) censures the "Pic- 
cards his neighbours, the heretics, those unhappy people, who 
rejoice in the disgrace of the Roman See, as the pharisee over 
the publican, but have no compassion." — " We well appreciate 
our degradation," he continues, " and are sorry because of it ; 
but we do not fee like the heretics, and do not pass by the half- 
dead man, (that is, the abused Church,) as if we feared we 
might become denied by the sins of others — the more distress- 
ing the condition of the Church is, so much more faithfully 
should we stand by it, with weeping, prayer, exhortation and 
entreaty. For thus love requires of us to bear one another's 
burden." 

And in the 81st Thesis he declares : "Although my friends 
have, for some time past, proclaimed me a heretic, an ungodly 
man and a blasphemer, saying, that I do not receive the Church 
of Christ and the Holy Scriptures in the catholic sense ; yet I, 
relying upon my good conscience, believe that they are de- 
ceived here, for I love the Church of Christ and its honour. But 
it is the Lord that judges me, though I am not conscious of 
anything." 

Finally, in the 89th Thesis he declared his opinion "briefly 
and confidently," to this effect : " The Church needs a reforma- 
tion, but this is not the work of one single man, as of the Pope, 
nor yet of many Cardinals, as is evident from the last council, 
but of the whole world ; or much rather of God alone. But 
the time of this reformation He alone knows, who has created the 
times." 

Tetzel had, already, in the year 1517, in order to obtain the 
degree of Doctor, opposed other Theses to those of Luther and 
defended them at the university of Frankfort on the Oder ; or 
rather Dr. Conrad Wimpina had drawn them up and given 
them to Tetzel for defence. From these it, at first sight, 
might clearly be seen " who was to be taken for a heretic, 
schismatic, an obstinate, obdurate, erring rebel, babbler, and 
inconsiderate blasphemer." A messenger despatched by Tet- 
zel, had come from Halle and brought these Theses to Witten- 
berg. When the students, who were disgusted with the former 
sophistic method of teaching and much attached to the study 



\ 



74 THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 

of the Bible as well as to Luther, whose Theses Tetzel had 
before burnt, heard of this, they went to the man, intimidated 
him, and asked how he could venture to come and bring such 
things to Wittenberg. Some of them bought a few copies, but 
the others took them away by force and burnt all the rest 
(some eight hundred in number), after having first given an 
invitation to all who wished to be present at the burning of 
Tetzel's Theses, to make their appearance at the market-place 
by two o'clock ; and all this they did without any one's know- 
ing the least thing of it. Luther Was displeased with the 
business ; he was guiltless, but feared immediately that the 
whole matter would be laid to his charge. 

In the year 1518 (somewhere about the end of May), there 
appeared the " Proposition of Brother John Tetzel, grand in- 
quisitor of the Dominican Order, against a presumptuous sermon 
of twenty erroneous articles in reference to papal indulgences 
and grace, as a necessary instruction for all Christian and be- 
lieving people." To this Luther opposed his " Freedom of the 
sermon," in which he in the first place, acknowledges the sermon 
as his own, refutes the principal arguments of Tetzel, and thus 
replies to the abusive language of the latter : " At last, after 
he becomes weary of torturing the discourse, or perhaps has 
said all he knew, the storm bursts over my head, and now I am 
an arch-heretic, a heretic, an apostate, an errorist, an ungodly 
man, a slanderer, &c. To this I reply : God grant me and thee 
his grace. Amen." And because Tetzel had appealed " to the 
judgment and decision of his papal holiness, of the holy 
Roman Church, of all unsuspected Christian universities and 
doctors, obligating himself to suffer everything that might be 
imposed upon him, whether incarceration, the stocks, water 
or fire," and had called upon Luther to do the same ; the latter 
replied to the grand inquisitor : " That he gave him the faith- 
ful advice, rather to offer himself for the water of the vine, and 
the fire which smokes from roasted geese, inasmuch as he was 
accustomed to these." Ought it not to displease a Christian, 
that they first of all, childishly and mockingly attempt to terrify 
men with temporal fire and death, whilst it is a fearful and 
serious matter (as in the 49th Psalm), to err in explaining the 
Scriptures and to lead men astray, so much so that such falsi- 
fiers of the Scriptures must expect the fire of hell and eternal 
death ? Therefore those, who have such hard sconces, that 
they are not themselves terrified at such fearful and insnp- 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



75 



portable threatenings of God, might well keep silence, and not 
terrify others with human threats in unnecessary matters. But 
although this subject does not regard faith, salvation, necessi- 
ty or command, and they yet are so morbidly pious and love- 
sick, as even for such things which are unnecessary and not 
heretical, to burn heretics, do thou, my gracious God and 
Father, pardon me, if, to the derision of all honour which is 
not thine, I too, for once, defy my Baalites. Here then, I, Doc- 
tor Martin Luther, am at Wittenberg, and if perchance there 
is any grand inquisitor, who thinks himself able to devour iron 
and to rend rocks into pieces, him I inform, that he can have 
safe conduct, open gates, free lodging and board here, through 
the gracious assurance of our praiseworthy and Christian 
prince, Duke Frederick, Elector of Saxony, &c. ; from which 
too, these blasphemous perverters of the Scriptures may learn, 
that the same Christian prinee is not, as they, in their last be- 
wildered position, would like falsely and slanderously to assert, 
disposed to the injury of Christian truth, to protect either me 
or any one else in heretical undertakings, and not even in 
these things in which there never can be heresy." 2 Tetzel's 
urging him to submit his sermon " to the judgment of his papal 
holiness, &c," he meets thus : " I need no hellebore, am not so 
blind either as not to see through that. Yet it shall not be 
long, before I will submit my matter, much more perhaps than 
they may like. For the present let this suffice, that it is not 
necessary to burden his papal holiness and the Roman See 
with needless sermons, unless some wooden chair were unoc- 
cupied, much less with plain texts of Scripture, concord'antly 
preached and understood throughout all Christendom." And 
concludes i " May God alone help the truth and no one else. 
Amen. I am not so vain as to think that I can fly over the 
lofty pines, do not despair either but that I may creep over the 
dry grass." 

Among the first of those who wrote against Luther, was 
likewise Sylvester Prierias, Dominican, and Magister S. Palatii 
(highest censor of books) at Rome. He called his writing a 
dialogue, because he makes Luther to repeat his own Theses, 
and then he replies to them. He, by way of premiso, assumes 
four fundamental positions, in the first of which he says: "The 
universal Church is essentially (or in its nature) the calling to 
the service of God of all who believe in Christ ; but virtually 
(in its reality or outward manifestation) the universal Church 



76 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



is the Roman Church, as the head of all churches. The Roman 
Church representatively is the college of cardinals, but virtu- 
ally the Pope as being the head of the Church, though in a 
different sense from Christ." From this he then concludes, 
(secondly) that, as the universal Church and a church council 
cannot err in matters of faith and duty, so neither the Roman 
Church nor the Pope ; and (thirdly) that every one who does 
not abide in the doctrine of the Roman Church and the Pope 
as in an infallible rule of faith, from which even the Holy Scrip- 
tures receive their power and authority, is a heretic. Finally 
he maintains (fourthly) that the Roman Church can, as well by 
deeds as by words, establish things in reference to faith and 
duty, and that in such matters custom obtains the power 
of law. He then argues that just as he who entertains error 
in opposition to Scripture truth, is a heretic, so likewise is he 
who, in opposition to the doctrines and practices of the 
Church, entertains error w T ith regard to matters of faith and 
duty. And from this he concludes : " Whoever, in reference 
to indulgences, declares that the Roman Church cannot do 
what she actually does, is a heretic." 

In accordance with these principles, Sylvester then refutes 
Luther's Theses, calls him an arch-heretic, &c, and threatens 
him that he will be forced to renounce all heresy. He ascribes 
to the Pope the highest power in temporal as well as spiritual 
affairs ; says, that he, being the greatest king, can, instead of 
receiving voluntary gifts, impose taxes upon the world ; and he 
even defends the excesses of the indulgence trade, which Lu- 
ther had rebuked in the 27th and 75th Theses. 

Luther had, by way of Nuremberg, received Sylvester's 
writing, already in the beginning of January, (1518). He had 
agreed with his friends not to reply to it, for they thought that 
there was a masked Sylvester in the game, and that one of the 
authors of the 'Epistolae Obscurorum Virorum' had, in mocke- 
ry of the man, published this nonsense under his name, in order 
to excite Luther against him ; but subsequently, when Sylves- 
ter had, by the Pope, been appointed as Luther's judge, the 
latter, notwithstanding, wrote against him ; but only hastily, 
as the thoughts came into his mind, during two days : because 
he did not consider it worth his while to trouble himself further 
on the subject. 

To the fundamental positions of Sylvester, he opposes others : 
firstly, from the Scriptures, the word of Paul, (1 Thess. 5.) : 



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77 



"Prove all things, and hold fast that which is good !" and, 
(Galat. 1.) : " And if an angel from heaven should preach a dif- 
ferent gospel to you than that which you have received, let 
him be accursed." In the second place, from the Fathers of 
the Church, the words of Augustine to Jerome : " I have learn- 
ed to honour only the canonical books of Scripture, with the 
belief that no one of their authors has erred. With regard to 
all others, no matter how learned and holy they may be, I never 
' believe that anything is true, simply because they have thought 
so." Thirdly, from the canons of the Church, the command 
that the preachers of indulgences are not to teach the people 
anything but what is contained in their letters. He then re- 
plies in detail, and, for instance, rejects the distinction, in re- 
ference to the Church, between essentialis, representative!, and 
virtualis, as empty words, without Scripture and without proof. 
He says, that he knows of no Church virtually, except in Christ, 
or representatively, except in a council. If everything that the 
Pope does had to be considered as a deed of the Church, what 
misdeeds would not then have to be taken for good works ? 
To Sylvester's charge : " That if Luther had obtained a good 
bishopric, and complete indulgence for the restoration of his 
Church, he would perhaps have made many agreeable speeches, 
and highly lauded indulgences which he now so much rejects," 
Luther replies : That if his object had been a bishopric, he 
certainly would not speak as he did. That they should not at 
all suppose, that he was ignorant in what way bishoprics and 
prelacies were obtained at Rome, since even the boys were 
accustomed to sing in all the streets : ' Denique nunc, facta est 
rerum fcedissima Roma/ (Rome has now become the most 
abominable of cities.) 3 

The Dominican and inquisitor, Jacob von Hogstraten, Prof, 
at Cologne, notorious because of his dispute with Reuchlin, had 
likewise risen up against Luther, and in another publication, 4 
had designated some of Luther's Theses as heretical, and call- 
ed upon the Pope to proceed against him only with fire and 
sword. Luther replied to him only in a fugitive sheet, dated 
July the 13th, 1518, 5 briefly and sharply concluding thus : " Go, 
thou unhappy and bloody murderer, who thirstest only for the 
blood of brethren ; go, and exercise thy inquisitorial office 
against the horse-beetles in their filth, till thou hast learned 
what sin, error, heresy, and everything else, necessary to an 
understanding of these things, is ; for I have never yet met 



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THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



with a greater dunce, especially for one who boasts of having 
studied logic for so many years. What marvel is it, if thou 
condemnest as heretical the best articles of the best men, since 
thou hast never yet learned what is against the Scriptures, and 
therefore condemnable and heretical ? It affords me real joy 
to have been condemned by thee, a man of such beclouded 
brains, and I pray thee, never call me a Christian and a Ca- 
tholic, lest people might think thou hadst spoken this falsely in 
thy blindness, but I pray thee, always denounce me as a here- " 
tic, for then men will say to my favour : ' the blind man has 
once again judged of colour.' This much I say to thee, thou 
bloody man and enemy of the truth." 

It also grieved Luther more, that the Prochancellor of the 
University of Ingolstadt, and canon of the bishopric of Eich- 
stadt, Dr. John Eck, likewise wrote against him, not so much 
because Eck was considered a very learned man, but princi- 
pally, because he had but lately (through the mediation of the 
patrician Seheurl, of Nuremberg) entered into a friendly rela- 
tion with him ; and yet Eck now, without first giving him warn- 
ing, of a sudden assailed him so maliciously, and in a publica- 
tion of his, called ' Obelisks? (marginal notes,) 6 denounced him 
as a malicious man, a heretic, rebel and madman, accused 
him of despising the Pope, and in reference to the 37th The- 
sis, said, that this was pouring out Bohemian poison. At first 
Luther was unwilling to answer, but his friends insisted on 
his doing so, and he, accordingly, in a writing dated on the 
10th August, and addressd to his friend Weneslaus Link, op- 
posed to Eck's publication other notes, called ' Asterisks? in 
which he rejects the objections of Eck as scholastic trash, 
and consoles himself, in view of the latter's insidious attack, 
with the declaration of the Scriptures : " All men are liars !" 
adding: "We are men, and will remain men." To the charge 
of heresy he replies : That he was living at a respectable Uni- 
versity, in an approved order, in the renowned duchy of Sax- 
ony, in a great bishopric, in which everybody was Catholic ; 
that, besides, he had not asserted anything, but only disputed. 
That only an obstinate continuance in error, in matters of 
faith, made one a heretic, but in the present case there was, 
at the worst, nothing further than error. That he was not 
wanting in respect for the Pope, but that sycophants were 
bent upon dishonouring the Pope's majesty by their false- 
hoods. " The Pope is a man and may be deceived, especially by 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



79 



such crafty and hypocritical men ; but God is the truth and 
cannot be deceived. I, therefore, pray my enemies, in future, not 
to attempt to terrify me by flattering the Pope, or by means 
of their renowned Magisters, but, if they are so exceedingly 
anxious to obtain the victory, to instruct and overcome me 
with clear declarations of the Scriptures and of the Pope." 

Authorities.— Let. No. 66-68, 58, 51, 52, 59. — The Resolutiones, 
lat. in Loscher, II., ch. 6. ; Germ. W. of L., vol. 17, p. 28. — TetzePs 
Anti-Theses, in Loscher, I., ch. 26. — Refutation of Tetzel and Luther's 
defence of his sermon, in Loscher, I., ch. 25 and 27 ; in the W., vol. 17, 
p. 121 and 132. — The Dialogus Sylvestri Prieratis, etc., in presumptu- 
osas Martini Lutheri conclusiones de potestate papae, in Loscher, II., ch. 
3. — Responsio Lutheri ad S. P. dialogum, in Loscher, II., ch. 10. — 
Scheda contra Hogstratanum, lat. ib. ch. 8, and Germ. W., vol. 17, p. 
140. — The Asterisci with the Obeliscis printed together, in Loscher, II., 
ch. 8. 

Notes. — 1.) Undoubtedly in manuscript, for on the 10th (15th) of 
July they were printed no further than to the 18th Conclusio, (comp. 
let. No. 73,) and not till the 21st of August does he send them to Spala- 
tin, when he at the same time complains about the typographical errors, 
Let. No. 75, 79. 

2. ) In his Theses, (47 and 48, in Loscher, I., p. 522,) Tetzel had 
covertly assailed the Elector as if the latter favoured Luther's heresy. 

3. ) This writing of Luther's had already in September to be printed 
anew, for the Dominicans bought up all the copies in order to suppress 
them, (Let. No. 80). — As all the particulars of the controversy cannot 
be pursued in detail, we shall here immediately, by way of remark, state, 
that (in 1519) Sylvester wrote a Replica ad M. Luth., (Loscher, III., 
ch. 13,) which Luther did not answer; so likewise in 1520, a writing 
entitled De Juridica et irrefragabili veritate Romance ecclesice, etc., 
brevissimum Epitoma, which Luther caused to be reprinted with the ad- 
dition of some remarks, Tom. Jen. I., 61. Sylvester conducted the con- 
troversy in such a way, that, as Erasmus relates, (comp. Seckend., 
p. 40,) the Pope himself was constrained to bid him observe silence. 
Upon Luther and his work Sylvester's writing exerted a great influence, 
inasmuch as by the extravagant assertions contained in it in reference 
to the papal power, the controversy now took a different direction, and 
Luther was led to further investigation and decided opposition. 

4. ) Probably in the Apologia adv. Reuchlinum. 

5. ) If not after all, perhaps first in 1519, for the Theses, concerning 
which Luther afterwards disputed with Eck, at Leipzig, would have be- 
come known already in 1518, (possibly from some other cause,) since 
Hogstraten's anger was directed against these, especially the 13. 

6. ) At first they were not printed, but, as Eck afterwards declared by 
way of excuse, written only for the Bishop of Eichstadt ; they were, 
however, carried about so much the more in manuscript and transmitted 
to Luther by W. Link, Seckend., p. 31. 



80 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



CHAPTER V. 

CITATION TO ROME, AND HEARING BEFORE CAJETAN. 

Pope Leo X. had already on the 3d February, 1518, in a writ- 
ing to Gabriel Venetus, General of the Augustine Order, com- 
missioned him to use the influence which his office gave him, 
and by means of letters, as well as through learned and upright 
negotiators, to cause Luther to cease from his design, and thus 
forthwith to extinguish the fire kindled by him, since nothing 
seemed to be more dangerous than delay, as the evil was 
growing mightier and stronger every day. Subsequently the 
Pope appointed as judges in this case the Bishop of Ascoli, 
Hieronymus de Genutiis, Auditor Camerae Apostolicae, and 
Sylvester Prierias, who had before already declared Luther's 
Theses to be heretical ; and now, on the 7th of August, Luther 
received a citation to appear at Rome before these his judges, 
within sixty days. 

To Spalatin, who, as court-preacher of the Elector, was with 
the latter at Augsburg, on occasion of the diet, Luther forth- 
with wrote on this subject : that he did not know how he could 
escape the excommunication intended for him, except with the 
help of the Elector ; but that he would much rather continu- 
ally be under excommunication, than be the cause of unfa- 
vourable reports against the Elector. That his experienced 
friends had advised him to apply to the Elector for a safe-con- 
duct through his territory, and if the latter should refuse it, as 
he knew he would refuse, he would, in the estimation of those 
friends, have the most satisfactory excuse for not appearing at 
Rome. In a postscript he mentions, that they likewise gave 
him the advice, to date the letter back somewhat, and that 
they thought this would not be a falsehood, inasmuch as the 
intention and opinion of the Elector had all along been known, 
he having hitherto always intended refusing a safe-conduct or 
permission. 

But Luther, not in the least daunted, wrote on the 1st of 
September to Staupitz, that he had not been deterred from his 
intended course by this citation and these threats. " Do not 
doubt, my honourable father," said he, " I shall, in future too, 
assert my liberty to investigate and maintain the Divine Word. 
I have, as you know, to suffer things much more severe, 1 and 
this causes me to look with indifference upon these temporal, 



THE TIME OP THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



81 



and quickly- vanishing flashes of lightning ; only I would like 
to have respect shown to the power of the Church. If I should 
be excommunicated by man, I fear that you might take offence 
at it, as I am certain that God has given you a just and faith- 
ful judgment in these matters." 

Luther at the same time transmitted to Staupitz a copy of his 
sermon on the power of the ban, which he had delivered before 
the congregation in July. He had intended at first to have a 
public discussion of the matter, but this having been noised 
abroad, the Bishop of Brandenburg had, through a respectable 
messenger, desired him to defer the disputation, which he too, 
especially at the advice of his friends, had done. The tyranny 
and ignorance of the papal commissaries had forced him to 
preach this sermon. All the Wittenberg jurists and theologians 
fully approved of it ; but his adversaries endeavoured, on this 
account, to make a great commotion, by most maliciously put- 
ting together, in the shape of articles, what they had caught up 
of the discourse, and then everywhere circulating it. To coun- 
teract the influence of these venomous articles, Luther pub- 
lished the sermon in the Latin language. 

In this sermon he 

1. Determines what excommunication is, namely, nothing 
else but an exclusion from the communion of saints. But the 
communion of saints is twofold: one inward and spiritual, the 
other outward and bodily. The spiritual consists in one faith, 
one hope, one love to God. The bodily consists in the commu- 
nion of the same sacraments, as the signs of faith, hope and love ; 
it, however, likewise extends to the affairs of life. Therefore, as 
no being, but God alone, can bestow upon the soul that former 
spiritual communion, or when it has been excluded, again in- 
troduce it into the same, just as little can any being take from 
it this communion, or excommunicate it, except a man himself, 
by his own sins. 

2. From this it follows, that excommunication is nothing 
more than an exclusion from outward communion. 

3. To be excommunicated is not yet with the soul to be given 
over to Satan, or to be deprived of the blessings of the Church, 
and the united prayer of the same. This is sufficiently evident 
from what hasjpeen said, for, if faith, hope and love remain, 
true communion and participation in all the blessings of the 
Church likewise remain. 

4. Excommunication, if just, much rather signifies that the 

6 



82 THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



soul is given over to Satan and deprived of the spiritual com- 
munion of the Church, because it overtakes him who, by a 
mortal sin, has excluded himself from the communion of love 
and given himself over to Satan ; as, on the other hand, the 
re-admission is a sacrament and outward sign of the inward 
re-union and communion. Therefore it is true, that excommu- 
nication does not cause death, but presupposes a person to be 
in death and sin, that is, spiritually and truly excommunicated. 

5. Excommunication, although it is temporal and outward, 
has been instituted, not to prove prejudicial to inward com- 
munion, but to promote it ; and the former is, if just, to restore 
the latter ; if unjust, to augment it. 

6. Care must alone and above all things be taken of this, 
that excommunication, this excellent auxiliary, do not become 
despised, or be borne unwillingly, for it is to be valued, not 
merely because of the power of the Church, which of itself is 
to be feared, but also because of the good effect of this power 
and of the furtherance of one's own salvation. Therefore, my 
brethren in the Lord, let the servants of this power be good or 
bad, as they may, let it be used rightly or abused, yourselves it 
never will injure, but always benefit, if only you bear it in the 
proper spirit, or, in humility, seek to avoid it and to be absolved 
from it. Only do you look upon the Church as your mother : 
what does it concern you if she scourges you by the hand of 
one that is unworthy ? It is, notwithstanding, the wholesome 
discipline of your dear mother. 

7. Be much rathe?* attentive to this, that you either perform or 
leave off from that on account of which you have to suffer excom- 
munication and the rod, instead of seeking to escape from the rod 
itself 

8. Excommunication is to be borne not only for perverse 
error, but for every disgraceful misdemeanor. 

9. Above all things and in all cases is it to be remembered, 
that because it is the power of Christ, we are most highly to 
fear and to honour the power of the Church, even though on 
account of our sins it is committed to a Pilate, Herod, Annas, 
Caiaphas, or other and worse tyrants, according to the exam- 
ple of Christ, who likewise thus honoured Annas, Caiaphas 
and Pilate. 

10. To be unjustly excommunicated is the very highest 
honour, therefore we are quietly to bear it, if we cannot, by a 
modest excuse, accomplish anything. 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



83 



11. In ease of an unjust excommunication, we must be most 
guardedly careful not to forsake, neglect, do or say that which 
the excommunication would require, if, namely, it would be 
sinful to comply. For righteousness and truth, as they belong to 
the inward communion of the Church, dare never be given up be- 
cause of the exclusion from outward communion, if excommunica- 
tion even should continue till death. For even though a person, 
justly excommunicated, should die, he would not on that ac- 
count be damned, if he did not die impenitently, contemning 
the excommunication. Repentanee and humiliation of one's 
self absolve and make good all, though a person were dug up 
or cast into the water. But happy and blessed is he who dies 
under unjust excommunication, for because he has not forsaken 
righteousness, though on account of it he was visited with such 
punishment, he will instead be crowned with eternal honour. 

12. But the Popes and their servants are to be reminded, 
that they are to impose punishments with reluctance and as 
seldom as possible ; for beeause punishment is in a certain 
sense a law, but every law a power and occasion of sin, and 
because the law cannot be fulfilled without the grace of God, 
and they themselves cannot either give the grace of God, which 
is the fulfilment of the law ; they do nothing else, when they 
multiply laws and punishments, but to multiply the causes and 
effective occasions of sin and transgression against God. For 
though it is our duty to observe their prescriptions, yet should 
they much rather come to the support of our weakness." 

In the meantime there had been held some negotiations with 
regard to Luther's affair. The Emperor had, on the 5th of 
August, written to the Pope concerning Luther, from Augs- « 
burg, and expressed his displeasure that the latter was so 
obstinately bent on continuing in his doctrines, and that he 
had obtained many patrons and defenders of his errors, among 
whom there even were men of power and great influence ; he 
therefore called upon the Pope to silence and crush him as the . 
author of wicked, foolish and useless questions, adding the pro- 
mise : "For what your holiness shall determine in this matter 
to the praise and honour of God Almighty, and for the ;2;ood of 
Christian believers, we shall earnestly support, and see that it 
be observed by all of our realm." 2 

The Elector, however, after the reception of the citation, 
interceded with the Emperor and the papal legate, Cardinal 
Cajetan de Vio f at Augsburg, to have Luther's cause investi- 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



gated in Germany* The university of Wittenberg, for the same 
purpose, on the 25th of September, issued two writings, one to 
the Pope himself, the other to his private chamberlain, the 
apostolical nuncio Carl von Miltitz. In these documents the 
university calls Luther its noblest member, and declares its 
conviction, that he will do everything becoming a Christian 
theologian, and not undertake anything which can be objected 
to by a reasonable judge. 

But the best course was, undoubtedly, that of Stauprtz, who 
on the 7th September, thus wrote to Spalatin : " As regards 
the business concerning Doctor Luther, of which you have 
written to me, the Lord will not deceive us, in that he has pro- 
mised to be the third where there are two united in godliness, 
&c. It is impossible that unanimous prayer should not be 
heard. It is right enough to seek counsel and aid in obtaining 
justice, as well as to call upon holy and pious people for their 
intercession, yet more for the sake of the truth than in order to 
preserve our lives. If then no one will help, we must leave 
the matter to Him who rules as King over all the earth, but we 
must be ready to suffer and be willing to die for the sake of 
the truth ; as indeed we are, too, to love the truth more than 
ourselves* Therefore do thou, dear fellow-disciple of the Lord 
Christ and adherent of evangelical truth, pray and entreat 
with me, that our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the light of the 
world, the truth, and the life of believers, may himself be our 
light, and grant us grace, in all humility, to seek him, to think 
modestly of ourselves, and now that we have found him, con- 
stantly and fearlessly to praise and to confess him. Then I 
pray you too, to admonish your and my most serene prince and 
gracious Lord, not to become disheartened in consequence of 
the deceitful intrigues of those who, with their venomous ser- 
pent-tongues, venture to subvert the truth ; that he, moreover, 
do not become terrified either at the roaring of the lion, (Pope 
Leo). For of him who takes divine truth as his shield, it is 
written : ' He has commanded his angels concerning thee to bear 
thee on their hands, that thou do not dash thy foot against a stone. 
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder, the young lion and 
dragon shalt thou trample under thy feet, " &c. Further he 
writes: "That the Elector should not have respect either to him 
or to Luther, or to the whole order of the Augustines, but only 
be concerned about having the truth brought to light and 
darkness dispelled, and making provision, if possible, for some 



I 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 85 

secure place, wkere Luther might, without fear, which at times 
may overtake even the stout-hearted, boldly declare the truth. 
" For I know," says he, " how the Babylonian, I had almost 
said Roman pestilence, raves against all who oppose the 
shameful abuses of those who sell Christ and his grace for 
money." But to Luther, Staupitz, eight days later, wrote thus : 
** It seems to me as if the whole world were in arms against the 
truth. Such hatred as this would even have nailed Christ to the 
cross, and I do not see either, what else remains for you now 
but the cross, If I am not mistaken, we have soon to expect a 
decretal, forbidding all to search the Scriptures as Christ has 
commanded, without obtaining leave from the Pope. Thou 
liast but few patrons, and these, alas, from fear of the enemies, 
are only secret ones. My opinion is, that you had better leave 
Wittenberg for a time and come to me, that we may live and 
die together, and to this also the Elector consents. Herewith 
1 close, It cannot be otherwise but that we be forsaken, and thus 
follow Christy who also was forsaken. Farewell, and may you 
safely arrive here." 

A papal breve, dated the 25th of August, was, in the mean- 
time, issued to Cardinal Cajetan, to this purport : " That Luther 
had been cited to Rome to answer for himself, had too received 
a letter of admonition from the Bishop of AseolL But that 
because he was abusing the kindness of the Pope, growing 
daily more audaeious and persisting in his heresy, Cajetan 
should, after receiving this document, as the matter was noto- 
rious and admitted of no exeuse, (Luther, too, having already 
been declared a heretic by the above-named Bishop,) without 
further delay, foree Luther to appear before him. To accom- 
plish this he should call upon the Emperor as well as all 
spiritual and temporal princes for aid, and having once brought 
him to a place of safe-keeping, he should guard him till further 
orders, so as to be able to place him before the apostolical See, 
In case Luther appeared of his own accord, begging forgiveness 
for his audacity, and evincing true penitence, the Cardinal 
should have power given to receive him into the communion 
of holy mother church. But if he remained obstinate, despis- 
ing the temporal power, and his person could not be secured, 
lie and all his adherents were publicly to be proclaimed and 
set forth as heretics, outlaws, accursed and execrable people ; 
all spiritual and temporal power (with the exception of the 
Emperor) were, under threat of excommunication, to be called 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



upon, to seize and to deliver up him and his adherents ; but iff 
case they secretly or openly afforded him assistance, their 
towns or lands should, as long as Luther remained there, be 
placed under the interdict of the Church ; the clergy should be 
deprived of all their churches, cloisters and other spiritual pro^' 
perty and incomes, as well as be dispossessed of their fiefs; the 
seculars were to be degraded, deprived of Christian burial as 
well as alt their fiefs, and no exception or privilege whatever' 
should be of any avail against these measures. Unto those 
who showed themselves obedient, the Cardinal might grant 
full indulgence, as well as any other favour or compensation/' 3 

The Pope, at the same time, wrote thus to the Elector: 
" That child of evil, Martin Luther, boasts himself as if, under 
the protection of the Elector, he had no man's power or pun- 
ishment to fear. Now, although this is known to be false, yet 
is the Elector admonished to keep himself free, not only from 
guilt, not chargeable upon him, but also from the appearance 
of guilt. And as Luther is now cited to answer for himself 
before the legate, to whom the business has been committed 5 , 
the Elector is requested to have care and: to see that Martin 
Luther be delivered up to the power and judgment of the holy 
See, as the above-named legate will demand of him.'* 

John Lange had, through Count Albrecht, of MansfeldV 
warned Luther not to go without the precincts of Wittenberg^ 
as several noblemen were lying in wait for him, for the pur- 
pose of either strangling or drowning him ; Luther, however,, 
said that he was not conscious of teaching anything but pure- 
theology, and that he had known, long since, that his preach- 
ing would be a stumbling-block to the hypocritical Jews, and 
to the wise Greeks, fooltshness. He accordingly, in Septem- 
ber, proceeded to Augsburg on foot, and on the 28th arrived at 
Weimar ; he remained there in the cloister one night, and on 
the following day, it being Michaelmas, preached in the cas- 
tle church, treating especially upon the words : " He that will 5 
be greatest in the kingdom of heaven," &e, among other 
things reflecting upon the Bishops, who ought to go about in the 
form of servants, but instead of that, seated themselves in the 
temple of God like Antichrist, using, for their own advantage, 
the power they had received, and considering it as their spoils. 
The Provisor of the monks there, John Kestner, sympathizingly 
said : " Oh ! dear Doctor, the Italians are very learned men. I 
fear you will not be able to maintain your cause against them ?, 



THE TIME OP THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



they will certainly burn you alive on account of it !" Luther 
replied : " With nettles it might be endured, but with fire it 
would be too' hot. My dear friend, pray our Lord God in 
heaven, in a pater noster, for me and His dear child Jesus, 
whose my cause is, that He may be gracious to Him. If only 
He maintains the cause for Him, it then is maintained for me : 
but if He will not maintain it for Him, then I shall not maintain 
it for Him either ; then He must bear the reproach." Being 
despatched from Weimar by the Elector with many gracious 
letters of recommendation, and means to defray his expenses, 
Luther travelled the whole distance on foot to within three 
(German) miles of Augsburg, where being seized with severe 
pain in the stomach, he seated himself on a wagon, and thus, 
in a borrowed cowl belonging to Dr. Wenzel Link, on the 7th 
of October, arrived at the cloister of the Augustines at Augs- 
burg. He immediately, on the first day, sent Link and another 
person to the Legate to inform him of his arrival. On this in- 
formation the Cardinal sent his orator and two servants, invit- 
ing Luther to come to him, and promising him every favour, 
The latter replied that he would come. But the counsellors 
(Auerbach, Langenmantel, Peutinger,) said r that he should not 
go to him, as he had no safe-conduct, and the Italians were not 
to be trusted. For the Elector had recommended Luther to 
the Council, requesting them to take good care that nothing 
might befall him. This they accordingly faithfully did, and 
Langenmantel in particular, said : (i Because the Elector had 
written to them he should now obey them, do as they directed, 
and not so precipitately go to the Cardinal. For they knew 
that in his heart he was quite exasperated against him, what- 
ever outward appearance he might assume." They, therefore, 
endeavoured to obtain for him a safe-conduct from the Empe- 
ror ; but it was some three days before this could be effected, 
as the Emperor was not in Augsburg, but had gone on a hunt- 
ing excursion ; his counsellors alone remaining behind. In the 
meantime, the Cardinal's servants came every day and said : 
"The Cardinal offers you every favour, why are you afraid? 
He is a very kind father." But another one whispered to him: 
* Do not believe it, he is not a man of his word." 

On the 9th, Urban us, the Orator of the Margrave of Mont- 
ferrat, sent to Luther, requesting him not to go to the Legate 
till he had before spoken with him. He then accordingly, 
being, as all supposed, employed by the Legate himself, came 



88 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



to Luther and urged him with man}- words, and, as he said, 
with the most wholesome advice, simply and entirely to yield 
to the Legate, return to the Church and retract his errors. He 
further, too, counselled Luther very much against defending 
himself, and said : " Do you, then, wish to have a race ? " 
Luther : " If it can be shown me that I have said anything in 
opposition to what the true Catholic Church believes, I will 
immediately condemn myself and retract." " Yes, yes," repeat- 
ed he, "you want to have a race." Hereupon he made the most 
nonsensical assertions, and acknowledged openly, that false 
doctrines might be preached if they only yielded profit and filled 
the chest. So, likewise, that there ought to be no disputing 
concerning the power of the Pope, but that this ought to be 
placed sufficiently high to allow him to abolish everything, 
even in matters of faith, by his mere command, On the third 
day he again came to Luther and reproached him that he did 
not come to the Cardinal, who was all the while so graciously 
expecting him. Luther replied : " That he had to follow the 
advice of those upright men to whom he had been recommend- 
ed by the Elector, who all, however, were of the opinion, that 
he ought not to go without a safe-conduct from the Emperor ; 
but that as soon as this was received he would immediately 
come." At this Urbanus flew into a passion and said : " Do 
you think, then, that the Elector will, for your sake, risk the 
loss of his dominions?" Luther: "That I do not at all desire." 
Urbanus : " Where will you abide then 1 " Luther : " Under 
heaven." Urbanus : " If you had the Pope and the Cardinals 
in your power, what would you do with them ? " Luther : " I 
would pay them every respect and honour." Upon this Urba- 
nus, after the Italian manner, bit his finger and said : " Hem, 
hah ! hah ! " went away and came no more. At that time too. 
they represented to Luther, that the dispute might be settled by 
six letters of the alphabet, revoca, (retract !) an easy matter ; 
but he thought that they were important letters, and that it 
would not have come to revoca, but to occide, (kill !). 

Luther accordingly waited for the safe-conduct from the 
Emperor, which was delivered to him on Monday, the 11th. 
Hereupon he, on Tuesday, went to the Legate, taking with 
him his host, the prior of St. Anna's, 4 at Augsburg, with two of 
whose brethren, besides Dr. Wenceslaus Link, and one other 
brother more of his order. Having come to the Legate, he 
there found with him the apostolical Nuncio and Urbanus. 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 89; 

But they had before carefully instructed him as to the manner 
in which he should deport himself. He accordingly fell down 
on his face before the Legate. The latter directed him again 
to rise. Then the Italians pressed and crowded around Dr. 
Martin, all wishing to see him, and many of them for that pur- 
pose coming into the apartment. Luther having now risen 
again, and neither the Cardinal nor any one else speaking, he 
thought such silence was to intimate that he ought to speak, 
and therefore he said nearly as follows : " Reverend father, 
cited by his papal holiness and required by my most gracious 
lord, the Elector of Saxony, I have, as an obedient and submis- 
sive son of the holy Christian Church, appeared, and I herewith 
acknowledge, that such and such Theses have been published 
by me for disputation. I offer, too, obediently and willingly, to 
hear of what I may be accused, and if I should have erred, to 
adopt other views." Upon this, the Legate very kindly and 
graciously addressed him, immediately, according to the in- 
junction of the Pope, as he said, (for the request to give Luther 
a copy of the breve, he refused.) demanding of him three things : 
1. To ponder with himself and to retract his errors ; 2. To 
promise that he would, in future, desist from them; and 3. To 
refrain from everything else which might create confusion in 
the Church. " And above all," said he, "you are to retract the 
following two articles : Firstly, your saying or maintaining, 
that the treasure of indulgences is not the merit or suffering of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, your maintaining, that a person 
who wishes to receive the holy sacrament of the hordes Supper, 
must himself have faith." 

The former of these articles the Legate attempted to refute 
with a single Extravagans in Clementinis } (a division of the 
papal decretals,) pretending that the suffering of our dear Lord 
Jesus Christ and indulgences, were the same thing. Luther, in 
his reply showed, that there were properly two extravagances, 
one of Pope Clement IV., the other of Sixtus IV., both of the 
same import; that he knew them well, and had read them 
both. For the Legate had asked how he could be so bold, and, 
without having read such Extravagans, venture to write differ- 
ently from what it contained. Afterwards the discussion pro- 
ceeded so far, that Luther said : " He did not consider either of 
those Extravagances as sufficient proof in matters of such im- 
portance, inasmuch as they perverted the holy Scriptures, and 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY* 



did not quote them rightly." Then the Legate said : * That 
the Pope had power and authority over all things/' Luther 
answered : " Salm scriptufd, that is, yes, it is true, but only so 
far, that the holy Scriptures be not torn in pieces by the Pope." 
This the Legate ridiculed and said : " Sdlva scrip tufa ! The 
Pope* dost thou not know it, (is) above Councils too, for lately 
he censured and condemned the Council of Basle ? " Luther : 
" But the university of Paris has appealed from it." The 
Legate : " Those of Paris will also receive their punishment 
for it." 

Concerning the other article: "That a person, who partakes 
of the holy sacrament, must believe, in order to obtain the 
grace offered to him in the sacrament," the Legate said : 
" That this doctrine was opposed to the holy Scriptures, and to 
the true doctrine of the Roman Christian Church." Luther re- 
plied : " That in this article he neither would nor could yield." 
The Legate : " Whether you will or will not, you must either 
retract it to-day, or I will, on account of this single article, re- 
ject and condemn all your doctrines." And on Luther's quot- 
ing several passages from the holy Scriptures, the Legate 
ridiculed him and said : " Loquitur de fide generali," (that is, he 
speaks of faith in general.) which Luther, however, denied. 

Thus much they accomplished the first day, for Luther beg- 
ged one day's time to consider, and so departed, " Because," as 
he subsequently wrote to the Elector, " I saw, that by words I 
could not maintain my cause, inasmuch as he represented the 
Pope, and desired that I should approve and assent to every- 
thing he said ; whereas, what I advanced in opposition, was 
received with hisses, rustling, tumult, laughter and contempt, 
even though I quoted the holy Scriptures. In short, the pater- 
nal kindness which he repeatedly promised your Electoral 
grace to observe towards me, consisted in this, that I was re- 
quired either to suffer violence or to recant, for he said, that he 
would not discuss the matter with me. It therefore seemed 
best to reply in writing, which expedient leaves to the oppress- 
ed at least this consolation, that others too are enabled to form 
a judgment and decision on the subject, and that he who 
otherwise by clamour keeps the field, may perhaps thus have 
his conscience aroused and alarmed." 

Luther having returned from this first interview to his lodg- 
ings, he there found the vicar, Dr. Staupitz, who in the mean- 



t'ME TIME OF THE FIllST TESTIMONY. 



time had come to Augsburg, 5 and the latter deemed it expedient 
to obtain from the Legate permission for Luther to present to" 
Him his answer in writing. 

The next day, (Wednesday, the i3th October.) Luther again 
went to the Legate arid with him Dr. Staupitz, three imperial 
Counsellors, and the electorSt-saxon knight von Feilitzsch, and 
in presence of & notary, whom he had brought With him, pro- 
tested as follows : u That he Was not conscious of having said 
Anything that was opposed to the holy Scriptures, the fathers 
6f the Church, the papal decretals or sound reason ; that, how- 
ever, being human, he could err, and therefore had submitted 
and did yet submit himself to the judgment and lawful decision 
of the Church, and of all who knew better. That he, moreover, 
for himself offered, here or elsewhere, publicly to render an 
account for what he had said. And that if this did not satisfy 
the Legate, he was prepared, in writing, to reply to any objec- 
tions of his which he might choose to advance against him, and 
to submit the matter for decision to the universities of Basle, 
Freiburg, Louvaine and Paris." 

But the Legate said, that there was no need of the protesta- 
tion, and again began to admonish Luther to repent and to 
acknowledge the truth ; that he, the Cardinal, would again 
reconcile him to the Church and the Pope. Luther now declar- 
ing his intention of answering in writing and not by word of 
mouth, and representing that there had been enough disputa- 
tion the day before; the Legate answered and said laughing: 
" My son, I did not dispute with you, but wished to admonish 
you, and out of respect for the most serene prince Frederick, 
kindly and graciously to hear you." Luther keeping silence 
upon this, Staupitz arose and begged to have him heard in 
writing, which at length was, with difficulty, obtained. 

On the third day Luther again appeared before the Legate, 
and in presence of the knight Philip von Feilitzsch and Dr. 
John Ruhel, who were present by command of the Elector, 
delivered to him his written answer to the two objected 
points. 

In this answer he says, in reference to the first point : " That 
the decretals often erred and were opposed to the holy Scrip- 
tures and Christian love. That St. Peter, on occasion of his 
not walking uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel, 
had been reproved by St. Paul, Gal. 2. That it was therefore 
not to be wondered at, if his successor should likewise err in 



92 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



any case. That many earlier decretals, too, had been corrected 
by later ones, and Panormitanus said: 'That in matters of 
faith, not only a general council, but every believer was above 
the Pope, in case he had better authority and reason on his 
side.' That he himself would not be so indiscreet as to give 
up so many important and perfectly clear testimonies of the 
holy Scriptures for a single obscure and ambiguous decretal of 
the Pope, who was a fallible man ; that he would still attempt to 
■ make his Theses and the Extravagans agree, so that both might, 
in truth, be maintained. Having now done this, in seven argu- 
ments, he concluded that the Extravagans was on his side, and 
against the opinion of the very reverend Cardinal, and that his 
58th Thesis, therefore, declaring the merits of Christ not to be 
the treasure of indulgences, but something acquired thereby, 
still stands unshaken. That it, however, was not his business 
to interpret the papal canons ; much rather, if he heard of the 
Pope's entertaining a different opinion, he would submit to it." 

In reference to the second objection, Luther proves, from 
many passages of Holy Writ, as well in general, that man be- 
comes righteous only by faith in God, as in particular, that we 
are prepared only by faith in the words of Christ, to receive 
the sacrament, and concludes : " I therefore humbly pray, most 
reverend father in Christ, to have compassion with my con- 
science, and to show me how I may understand this differently, 
but not to compel me to retract anything which my conscience 
constrains me to approve. As long as the passages, which have 
been adduced as proof, yet stand unshaken, 1 cannot act other- 
wise, for I know that we must obey God, rather than men." 

But the Legate threw this document aside, without noticing 
it, and calling anew upon Luther to recant, he made a long 
speech, based on the opinions of Thomas (of Aquino), and 
thought by this to have overcome and silenced Luther. The 
latter made some ten different attempts to speak, but the Car- 
dinal just as often thundered on anew. At last Luther ex- 
claimed : " If it can be proved that the Extravagans asserts the 
merits of Christ to be the treasure of indulgences, I will 
recant !" At this the Legate broke out into a burst of laugh- 
ter, and quickly seizing the book, he read hastily and breath- 
lessly till he came to where it says : " That Christ had, by his 
suffering, purchased the treasure," &c. Here Luther inter- 
rupted him and said : " Behold, now, most reverend father, and 
consider well this word 'purchased.' If Christ, by his merits, 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 93 

has purchased the treasure, »then it is not the merits that are 
the treasure*, but that which the merits have earned, namely, 
the keys of the Church. The Thesis, therefore, is right." At 
this the Cardinal became suddenly confounded, and still not 
wishing to appear so, he abruptly passed over to something 
else, wisely endeavouring to make this forgotten ; but Luther, 
setting aside respect, vehemently exclaimed : " Only do not 
imagine, that we Germans are ignorant of grammar. It is one 
thing to be a treasure, another thing to purchase a treasure." 
The Legate, upon this, arose and said : " Begone, and do not 
again come into my presence, except to recant." So Luther 
left the Cardinal and went his way. 

In the afternoon, the latter sent for Staupitz, and treated 
with him about his inducing Luther to recant. Staupitz said 
that he was not able to do so, Luther being far too conversant 
with the holy Scriptures for him. Finally, however, he did so, 6 
but on Luther's requesting him to explain the adduced Scrip- 
ture passages differently, he said he could not. He at that 
time, too, himself said to Luther : " Remember, dear brother, that 
you have begun this in the name of Jesus. 91 

The Cardinal had, at last, agreed with Staupitz, to propose 
articles to Luther, pointing out what he was to retract and 
what not. But when the latter received neither the articles 
nor any other information, he sent Dr. Link to the Cardinal 
with the request : " Graciously, as a father, once more to take 
the case into consideration." The latter again, in a friendly 
way, declared himself willing, and said among other things : 
" That he no longer considered Dr. Martin a heretic, and would 
not either this time excommunicate him, unless further direc- 
tions should come to him from Rome, as he had, by a special 
post, sent the answer of Dr. Martin to the Pope. Further, that 
if Dr. Martin would retract only the article in regard to indul- 
gences, the whole matter could be easily arranged, as the other 
article concerning faith in the sacraments, was susceptible of 
a different interpretation." Dr. Staupitz hearing this, said : 
" That it would be worth something, if Dr. Wenceslaus had 
been attended by a notary or witness, when this hazardous de- 
claration concerning faith was uttered, as it clearly appeared 
from it, that Rome was more concerned for money than the 
holy faith and salvation." 

Many men of rank and intelligence, in the meantime, gave 
it as their advice and opinion, that it would be better for Dr. 



94 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



Staupitz and Dr. Link again to leave the city, and not, in any 
way, to trust the Italians. Both, accordingly, on tke same day, 
took their departure for Nuremberg, each by a different route. 

Luther waited all day on Saturday, without receiving any 
answer ; so likewise the following Sunday. On the latter day, 
he sent, by the prior of Pomesau, to the Cardinal a very sub- 
missive letter, in which he acknowledged, that though ex- 
tremely provoked, he had yet been unduly bold, severe and 
disrespectful towards the Pope ; that he ought to have used 
more discretion in treating upon this matter, and not have 
answered fools according to their folly ; that he would in 
future, too, demean himself and speak differently, and would 
indeed suffer this matter of indulgences wholly to rest, if those 
who had provoked him were likewise required to keep silence. 
As to the rest, he would willingly retract everything if his con- 
science would, in any way, permit him ; for that he durst not, 
at the command or advice of any one or to please any one, 
speak or act in any way against his conscience. Only one 
way remained, which was to convince him of his errors ; that 
there was nothing he desired more than to hear and follow the 
Church. 

Not receiving an answer to this letter, Luther, on Monday, 
the 18th of October, wrote once more : "That he was not con- 
scious of having neglected to do anything which became an 
obedient son of the Church, but that now he would not, and 
could not fruitlessly waste his time ; that he could not afford 
the expenses, and had besides already burdened the Carmelites 
too much ; that the Cardinal had, moreover, by word of mouth, 
told him not again to appear before him, if he would not 
retract ; he would therefore have to leave. That he had, 
indeed, been advised to appeal from the Cardinal, or much 
rather a sanctissimo Domino nostro Leone X., male informato 
ad melius informandum, (that is, from the badly-informed, to 
the better-to-be-informed Pope,) but that if it had depended 
upon him he would not have appealed, since he had already 
submitted the whole matter to the judgment of the Church, and 
was awaiting its decision. That he had not deserved, and 
therefore did not fear, ecclesiastical punishment ; that it had 
also, through the grace of God, come so far with him, that he 
was less afraid of punishments than of errors and erroneous 
opinions in matters of faith, since he knew that punishment did 
no injury, but only good, provided he had faith and truth on his 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



95 



side. The Cardinal he besought to interpret this his departure 
and appeal favourably with the Pope, as in these things he had 
yielded to necessity and the advice of his friends. For that he 
had not been able to oppose anything to the argument which 
they had advanced, saying : " What then will you retract ? Do 
you then mean by your retraction to impose upon us a law of 
faith ? Let the Church first condemn, if there is anything to 
condemn, then you may follow its decision, but it may not 
follow yours." That thus he had been overcome. 

Luther still remained over Monday and Tuesday ; but then 
both he and all his friends became apprehensive with regard 
to this silence. Therefore, fearing violence, he left behind him 
his appeal, and (on the 20th October) departed from Augsburg. 
Staupitz had provided a horse for him, the Council sent along 
with him an experienced out-rider, who knew the roads, and 
Langemantel aided him by night to get out of the city by a 
small gate. Thus, without small-clothes, boots, spurs or sword, 
he, on the first day, rode eight (German) miles, and on arriving 
at the inn in the evening, he was so much fatigued, that on 
alighting in the stable he was unable to stand, and fell down 
upon the straw. In Grafenthal, Count Albrecht, of Mansfeld, 
unexpectedly meeting him, amused himself at his equipment, 
and obliged him to become his guest. 

Two days after Luther's departure, his appeal was posted up 
on a door of the dome at Augsburg, in presence of the notar} r , 
Gall Kiinigender, of Herbrachtingen, and of several witnesses. 7 

Authorities. — Petri Bembi, epp. lib. XVI., n. 18. ; in Luther's 
Works, Hall, ed., vol. 15, p. 523. Seckend., p. 41. L. Let., No. 74, 
75, 78, 73, 80, 81, 95, 84, 282, 86, 87. Sermo de virtute excommuni- 
cationis, in Loscher, II., ch. 9. Luther's Works, vol. 17, p. 169, 171, 
172. Letter of Staupitz to Spalatin, German, in Spangenberg's Adel- 
spiegel, vol. II., p. 89. His letter to Luther, in Loscher, II., ch. 11. 
The papal breve, dec, ib. ; and Luther's Works, vol. 17, p. 173, 74. 
Myconius, p. 30, 31. Spalatin, Amales., p. 5. The writings in refer- 
ence to the Acta Augustana, in Loscher, II., ch. 11. Luther's Works, 
vol. 17, div. III., where also most of the above-mentioned letters are 
found printed. 

Notes. — 1.) Luther evidently means his spiritual trials, which no one 
knew so well as Staupitz. 

2. ) This, to Luther, unfavourable letter, as proceeding from a politi- 
cian, can easily be reconciled with the above-cited declaration (p. 64), 
to Pfeffinger. 

3. ) This severe papal breve, in which Luther was condemned before 
the time had expired during which he was to appear at Rome and 



96 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



answer for himself, was first communicated to him at Nuremberg on his 
journey back from Augsburg. He afterwards had it published himself 
with severe annotations. Works, vol. 17, p. 176. 

4. ) John Frosch, who soon afterwards was made Doctor at Witten- 
berg, was Prior of the Carmelite-cloister, to which Luther soon after his 
arrival had gone from the Augustine-cloister. 

5. ) Staupitz had promised to be present at the audience, and Luther 
had, immediately upon his arrival, sent a messenger for him to Salz- 
burg. 

6. ) In order not to be obliged to force Luther to anything, on the plea 
of obedience to his order, Staupitz had taken the precaution, even before 
this, to absolve Luther from all obedience to the order. Seckend., p. 47. 

7. ) The transactions at Augsburg which have in this chapter, as the 
author hopes, been synoptically and plainly arranged from the different 
reperts, are, in these reports, related unanimously indeed as to essen- 
tials, yet in minor points, naturally too, with some difference ; and it can- 
not always with certainty be stated on what occasion this or that thing 
was uttered. The author could not, for instance, well find a suitable 
place for the often-quoted, and by Myconius, p. 73, reported declaration 
of Cajetan : " Ego nolo amplius cum hac bestia loqui ; habet enim pro- 
fundos occulos et mirabiles speculationes in capite suo." (I do not wish 
to have any further conversation with this beast ; for he has deep eyes 
and wonderful thoughts in his head.) 



CHAPTER VI. 

DIFFICULTIES AND PROGRESS IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE AUGSBURG 
TRANSACTIONS. 

On the 31st October Luther had again, in good health, arrived 
at Wittenberg, without knowing, however, how long he would 
be able to remain there. But he was full of peace and joy, 
and wondered how so many and great men could consider 
these his trials as something extraordinary. The apostolical, 
(or, as he called it, diabolical) breve, (see p. 85.) had been com- 
municated to him at Nuremberg ; he considered it impossible, 
however, that it should have emanated from the Pope, and 
thought that some knave had, under the Pope's name, attempt- 
ed to terrify him by such decretal. He resolved, in connexion 
with the proceedings at Augsburg, 1 to publish a theological 
comment on this breve, (See ch. 5, note 3,) and he already 
thought of appealing to a general council. 

Cardinal Cajetan had, in the meantime, under date of the 
25th October, written to the Elector, related the proceedings 
with Luther, severely complained of him as well as his adhe- 
rents, and in conclusion had said : " As regards this subject, I 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



97 



will assert three things as certain. Firstly, what brother Mar- 
tin says in his Theses, he says by way of disputation, but in 
the sermons written by him, it is maintained and stated as 
true. But this is partly against the doctrines of the apostolical 
See, partly deserving of condemnation. And your highness 
can believe me, for I speak what is true from accurate know- 
ledge, and not from mere opinion. In the second place, I pray 
and exhort your highness to have regard to your honour and 
conscience, and either to send brother Martin to Rome, or to 
expel him from your dominions, as kind treatment will not in- 
duce him to admit his errors or to agree with the Church uni- 
versal. Lastly, your highness may know that this important 
and pernicious business cannot long continue in this state, for 
at Rome they will follow it up when I have washed my 
hands." And in the postscript written by himself : " Again I 
pray, that your highness may not suffer yourself to be deceived 
by those who say : ( Brother Martin's Theses contain nothing 
bad ;' and that you may not, in any way, for the sake of a 
miserable monk, bring any reproach upon your and your an- 
cestor's worthy name." 

This letter the Elector did not receive till the 19th Novem- 
ber. He caused it to be placed before Luther, and the latter 
replied, giving to the Elector a detailed statement of things, 
as he considered this the best opportunity to present the whole 
matter. He likewise related all the proceedings, step by step, 
following the document of the Cardinal, and defending himself 
against it. Towards the close he said : " But this I cannot 
endure, that he endeavours to make a Pilate of a most wise 
and acute prince. For when the Jews had placed Christ before 
Pilate, and he asked them what accusation they had to bring 
against him, or what evil this man had done, they said ; * If 
this man were not a malefactor we would not have delivered 
him to thee.' " Thus, here too, the right reverend Legate, having, 
with many hateful words, accused brother Martin to the prince, 
and the prince being supposed to ask : " What then has the 
poor brother done ? " he answers : " Your highness can believe 
me, for I speak what is true, from accurate knowledge, and 
not from mere opinion." I will, in the Prince's stead, reply to 
it : " Well then, let me know this accurate knowledge of thine, 
put it down in writing, do not dread publicity and the light. 
As soon as you comply, I shall send brother Martin to Rome, I 
will even myself have him seized and put to death. Thus I 

7 



98 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



shall have regard to my honour and conscience and bring no 
reproach upon my worthy name. But as that accurate know- 
ledge of yours shuns the light, and makes itself known only by 
the sound of the voice, I shall not confide in darkness, since the 
light itself is not sufficiently safe. Thus would I reply, most 
serene Prince, but your wisdom does not stand in need of an 
instructor or adviser." He then requested the Elector to judge 
for himself, what more he could have done, since he had ap- 
peared and made every reasonable offer. That he was not 
conscious of having omitted anything excepting the six letters, 
revoco. He then continued : " As to the rest, let them condemn, 
teach, interpret, either the right reverend Legate or the highest 
bishop himself, but only let them not say : 1 Thou hast erred, 
thou speakest wickedly ;' but let them, in writing, point out the 
error, prove what is not well spoken, give their reasons for 
what they assert, refute the Scripture passages adduced by 
me ; let them teach, as they boast to have done, by word of 
mouth ; let them instruct me, who desire, pray, wish and wait 
to be instructed, what a Turk even would not refuse me. If I 
see that anything is to be understood differently from what I 
have understood it, and still do not retract and condemn my- 
self, then, most serene Prince, may your highness be the first 
to persecute and banish me, may the members of our uni versi- 
ty denounce me, yes, I call even upon heaven and earth to 
oppose me, and may my Lord Jesus Christ himself destroy me. 
I, too, speak from certain knowledge and not from mere 
opinion. I do not wish my Lord and Master himself, or any 
creature of God, to show me mercy, if, being better instructed, 
I do not submit." And further : " 1 pray your highness to have 
regard to your honour and conscience, and not to send me to 
Rome, since it is impossible for me to be safe there. That 
would be nothing more or less than to enjoin your highness to 
shed Christian blood, and to become a murderer, since the 
highest bishop himself is not safe there. They have paper, 
and pens, and ink, at Rome, besides innumerable notaries ; it 
will be easy to state on paper what my errors are, and why 
they are errors. It will be less expensive by letter to instruct 
me absent, than treacherously to murder me when present. 
One thing," he said, " most deeply grieved him, that the Legate, 
namely, in his communication, maliciously assailed the Elector, 
as if Luther, in his undertaking, depended upon the formers 
protection ; and he shows that the Elector did not know any- 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



99 



thing whatever of his disputation before." Finally, he says : 
" Therefore, lest any evil should befall your highness on my 
account, what I least of all desire, behold I leave your territory, 
to go whithersoever a merciful God directs, and to His divine 
guidance I commit myself, happen what may. For there is 
nothing I desire less, than that any human being, least of all 
your highness, should on my account suffer reproach or incur 
danger. Therefore, most serene prince, I reverently greet your 
highness, and herewith simply say, adieu, ever grateful for all 
the benefits conferred upon me. For wherever I shall be, I 
shall still, at all times, remember your highness, and sincerely 
and thankfully pray that all may fare well with you and 
yours," 

Forwarding this letter to Spalatin, he requested the latter to 
ascertain whether the Elector would, perhaps, write to the 
Pope concerning him, in order to have his cause tried in Ger- 
many by commissaries. Not as though he were much con- 
cerned for himself, as he did not deem himself worthy to suffer 
anything extraordinary for the sake of the truth, but that he 
felt concerned about the university, and the many excellent 
young men who were inflamed with a wonderful zeal for the 
study of the Holy Scriptures. That in case he were to be 
crushed by main force, the door would be open against Dr. 
Karlstadt and the whole course of theological studies. 

The university of Wittenberg likewise wrote to the Elector 
on behalf of Luther, that he might intercede for him with the 
Cardinal or the Pope, to have his particular errors specified in 
writing, with the reasons or authorities stated, so as to enable 
him to perceive wherein he had erred. 

Luther was, in the meantime, daily expecting the sentence 
of excommunication from Rome, and he accordingly made 
every preparation, "in order that," as he writes to Spalatin, 
" when it should arrive, to be prepared and girded like Abra- 
ham to go forth, without knowing whither, or rather well 
knowing whither, since God is everywhere." To the congre- 
gation he said, from the pulpit : " I am now, as you have ex- . 
perienced, a very uncertain preacher, having often left without 
taking leave of you. If this, perhaps, should happen again, I 
wish you to consider me, in case I return no more, as having 
herewith bid you adieu." He at the same time admonished 
them, not to be terrified at the papal punishments which were 
madly meditated against him, and not to lay these things to 



100 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



the charge either of the Pope or any other man, wishing him 
evil on that account, but to commit the matter to God, and the 
like. 

On the 1st of December, Luther was already preparing to 
depart, when a letter from Spalatin arrived and detained him, 
but he was still prepared as much for leaving as for remaining. 
It was especially on account of the suspicion, as if the Elector 
favoured him, that he believed it his duty to withdraw; he 
thought, too, that if he remained he would not be able to speak 
and write so freely r but that, if he left, he could pour forth all 
his thoughts, without restraint, and sacrifice his life for Christ. 
The Elector was, indeed, concerned for Luther, 2 but would still 
have been pleased if the latter had had a place of refuge else- 
where. In reference to this matter, he caused Spalatin to hold 
a long consultation with him at Lichtenberg, and on Luther's 
declaring that if the sentence of excommunication arrived, he 
would not remain, he advised him, not too hastily to direct his 
steps to France. 

From Nuremberg, Luther was informed by letter, that 
Charles von Miltitz was on his way, being provided with papal 
breves, in order to seize and to deliver him to the Pope. Not 
knowing whether he might be unexpectedly put to death, or be 
surprised by the sentence of excommunication, he kept all 
things in readiness, and awaited the will of God ; he likewise 
caused an appeal to a future council to be printed, in order that 
if he should be withdrawn, to be able to circulate it. But the 
printer, contrary to the agreement entered into by him, not to 
dispose of any copies, had sold nearly all before ever Luther 
obtained one of them. 3 The latter was the more grieved at 
this, as he had just then read the noble letter of the Elector to 
Cardinal Cajetan. 

This letter was dated on the 8th December, and Luther's re- 
ply to the letter from the Cardinal was enclosed. The Elector 
writes : " That he had hoped, the Cardinal would graciously, 
as a father, have dismissed Luther, who at his request had 
been sent to Augsburg, and would not, without examining the 
case and sufficiently inquiring into it, have, as Luther said, in- 
sisted only upon a recantation. That, though the opinion of 
many learned men in his own and other dominions had been 
obtained, he had not at all been able to ascertain that the doc- 
trines of Martin were wicked, unchristian and heretical, ex- 
cepting only in the estimation of several, to whom his learning 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



101 



was objectionable, because of their own private advantage 
and pecuniary gain. That these had opposed Luther, but had, 
by no means, as yet, sufficiently sustained their objections. 
For," continues he then, " if from sure ground and cause we 
should perceive, that Luther's doctrines are wicked and unte- 
nable, we would, ourselves, know what to do, without needing 
to be exhorted or reminded in reference to it. For it is alto- 
gether our wish and intention, to discharge the duties of a 
Christian prince, and with the help of God, to preserve both 
our honour and our conscience inviolate. We did, accordingly, 
under such circumstances, by all means expect, not to be 
obliged to listen to such threats, (that the Roman See, namely, 
would follow up this case, and that your reverence had washed 
your hands,) much less to the demand, to send Martin Luther to 
Rome, or to expel him from our dominions, for no other reason 
than that he has not yet been convicted of the crime of heresy. 
For if he were expelled, it would be greatly to the injur}- of 
our university, which to this day has been known to be a 
Christian one, and has both many good teachers as well as 
•students." In conclusion he says : " That as Luther had sub- 
jected himself to the decision of several universities, and, more- 
over, offered himself ready for a discussion at some secure 
place, and wished, at least, to have his errors specified in 
writing; he, the Elector, likewise prayed to have this done, 
that he might know why Luther was to be considered a here- 
tic, as he would not, without proof, wish to consider him such, 
but would not like himself either to be drawn into error, or to 
be found undutiful to the apostolical See." 

Luther was much rejoiced at this letter, which was couched 
an language so firm and yet so becoming, and he found himself 
continually impelled to read it anew. But before this, he was, 
through the grace of God, of good courage, and the more his 
enemies raved and had recourse to measures of violence, the 
less did he suffer himself to be terrified ; and, on sending to 
Link the Augsburg Acta, he even wrote : " Far greater things 
now engage my pen. I do not know whence these thoughts come 
to me. In my estimation, this business has not even begun, 
notwithstanding, that their highnesses at Rome should be able 
to think it already at an end. I shall send you my trifles, that 
you may see whether I justly entertain the opinion, that the 
mry Antichrist of whom Paul speaks rules at the Roman court ; 



102 



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that the latter is, at present, worse than the Turk, I believe I 
am able to show." 

Especially did the flourishing condition of the university and 
of the study of theology rejoice him, as he then, in the letter 
above-mentioned, wrote to Link: "With us everything pro- 
ceeds as zealously as with the ants." Much of this state of 
things was owing, in an especial manner, to Philip Melanck- 
thon, who had, on the 25th August, 1518, arrived at Witten- 
berg, and had, four days afterwards, entered upon his profes- 
sorship, by delivering a discourse on the improvement of the 
studies of youth. In reference to this, Luther, on the 31st 
August, wrote to Spalatin : " Philip Melanchthon has delivered 
an exceedingly learned and able discourse, to the delight and 
admiration of every one, so that you need no longer be at a 
loss how to recommend him to us. We very soon forgot his 
outward person and appearance, 4 deeming ourselves happy, 
and admiring that which we have obtained in him. Only see, 
for what department you may best recommend him to the 
prince. If he is professor of the Greek language, I have not 
the least wish for any other." And two days later : " Let me 
most cordially commend Philip to your good wishes ; he is a 
thorough Greek scholar, deeply learned, and a most amiable 
man. His auditory is thronged with hearers ; especially do all 
our theologians, from the first to the last, through him, acquire 
a taste for the Greek language." Therefore, Luther, too, from 
Augsburg, wrote to Melanchthon : " Quit yourself like a man, 
as you likewise do, and instruct the young men as you ought ; 
but I will suffer myself to be offered up for them and for you, 
if so it please God. For I shall sooner perish, or, what above 
all, is most difficult for me, be deprived of your agreeable, 
society, than retract what has been fitly spoken, and thus be- 
come the occasion of subverting the best studies." 

Authorities. — Lett., No. 88, 94-97, 99-101, 103, 76, 72, 89. The 
writings of the Cardinal, the university and the Elector, in Loscher, 11^ 
ch. 13 and 15 ; Germ. Works of L., vol. 17, p. 203, 215, 216. 

Notes. — 1 ) They appeared in the early part of December, under 
the title : M Lutheri Brevis commemoratio rerum, quiE Augusta?, A. 
1518, peractis jam Comitiis cum D. Martino Luthero, etc., de Indul- 
gentiis Pontificalibus sunt gestae/' and are to be found in Luther's Latin 
Works. The contents of this writing and the separate proceedings to 
which it refers, are known to the reader from ch. 5, and it is necessary 




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103 



here only to remark, that Luther accompanied the narration with a very 
independent and cutting preface, as well as postscript. 

2. ) L. never was able rightly to ascertain the disposition of the 
Elector, for the latter was very reserved on this point, and had, too, as 
late even as the 6th August, written to Cardinal Raphael : " That he 
had thus far never attempted to defend Luther's writings or sermons." 
Those in confidential intercourse with him, however, could nevertheless 
perceive, that he was favourably disposed towards Luther. Comp. Seek., 
p. 53. In his letter to Cajetan, of the 8th December, he, for the first 
time, in some degree, took Luther's part, against Roman assumption 
and violence. 

3. ) In this appeal, which had been discussed and drawn up, on the 
28th November, in the chapel of Corpus Christi, still standing along- 
side of the parochial church at Wittenberg, Luther, in a very discursory 
manner reviews the proceedings thus far related, and justifies the step 
he had taken by showing, how all his prayers for audience and instruc- 
tion had been in vain. If the Elector had already been dissatisfied with 
the publication of the Acta, he was even more so with that of the Appeal. 
It deserves yet to be mentioned, that the appeal was not drawn up with 
regard to the papal bull of the 9th November, 1518, (in which, without 
mentioning Luther, yet with obvious reference to the point in dispute, 
the doctrine of indulgences, against which Luther contended, was con- 
firmed, ) inasmuch as this bull was not at all known at that time. Lastly, 
it may in this place be stated, that among the influential writings of Lu- 
ther, from the year 1518, there must likewise be numbered the German 
sermon "on the sacrament of Penance," (Loscher, H., ch. 14.) 

4. ) .Melanchthon's exterior was not calculated to excite respect, be- 
sides which, he, at that time, had an almost boyish appearance. Comp, 
Let., No. 80. 



CHAPTER. VII. 

BEGINNING OF THE NEGOTIATIONS WITH MILTITZ. 

In October, 1518, the papal chamberlain, Charles von Miltitz, 
a Saxon nobleman, had been despatched by the Pope as 
nuncio, for the purpose of conveying to the Elector, Frederick, 
the consecrated golden rose, which it was customary annually 
to send to some especially distinguished prince ; he was, how- 
ever, not to deliver it till he had first spoken with Cardinal Ca- 
jetan. He, at the same time, had with him a breve from the 
Pope to the Elector, stating that Miltitz had received commis- 
sion with regard to the prosecution of the war with the Turks, 
as well as with regard to Luther, " this child of Satan, and son 
of perdition," in order to investigate his cause, and to proceed 
against him and his adherents ; and as the conscience of the 
Elector might be not a little misled by the foolhardy project of 



104 



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Luther, and his own glory as well as that of his ancestors be 
darkened, he was herewith exhorted in the Lord, and affec- 
tionately requested, well to consider this business, and having 
just been honoured with so valuable a present, now, too, with 
his authority to aid the commissary in the execution of his 
commission. He likewise had breves to a number of private 
persons, for example, to the electoral counsellor, Pfeffinger, to 
Spalatin, as secretary of the elector, and to the Naumburg pre- 
bendary, Donatus Grasse,. in which they were admonished, 
through their influence with the prince, to assist in crushing 
Luther's shocking foolhardiness, as well as in rooting up the 
weeds of his erroneous doctrines ; further, to the captain and 
the mayors of Wittenberg, that they should aid Miltitz, without 
hinderance, to execute his commission. 

On the 27th December, Miltitz arrived at Altenburg. He 
had ordered Tetzel to meet him there ; but the latter excused 
himself, saying, that he durst not venture out of Leipzig, Luther 
having so excited against him all the men of power, that he 
was nowhere secure. Luther, on the other hand, had a meet- 
ing with Miltitz, at Altenburg, in the beginning of January, 
1519. The latter, with many words, urged him, in honour of 
the Roman Church, to retract what he had said. Luther, in 
reply, requested only to have a form of recantation prescribed 
to him, and cause shown why he was to be considered in error, 
though in such a way that it might appear evident to the mass 
of the people as well as to the learned, lest a recantation, hav- 
ing an evil appearance, might excite only still greater hatred 
against Rome. 

On the next day Luther notified the Elector of this, and in- 
formed him what he intended to do : " In the first place," said 
he, " I would promise, in future, to let this subject rest, and to 
permit the business to bleed itself to death, provided my oppo- 
nents likewise keep silence. In the second place, I would write 
to his papal holiness, most humbly submitting myself and ac- 
knowledging how I had been too hasty and too severe, though 
not with the intention of derogating from the authority of the 
holy Roman Church, but from the motive, as a faithful child of 
the Church, to resist the blasphemous preaching which has 
caused the Roman Church to be derided, evil spoken of and 
dishonoured, as well as the people to be filled with suspicion 
against it. In the third place, I would publish a short address, 
exhorting every one to follow, obey, and reverence the Roman 



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105 



Church, not to interpret my writings as meaning to dishonour, 
but to honour the holy Roman Church ; I would further acknow- 
ledge myself to have brought the truth to light with too much 
ardour, and perhaps at the improper time. That, in the fourth 
place, Spalatin had, at the instance of Fabian von Feilitzsch, 
proposed to submit the matter to the bishop of Salzburg, whose 
decision Luther should either follow or return to his appeal. 
But that he apprehended the Pope would not be willing to ac- 
cept a judge. That Miltitz, with whom he had conversed on 
these points, had supposed it was not enough yet, though he 
had not demanded a recantation, and thus they had separated, 
further to consider the matter. In case the Elector knew of 
anything else that could be done, he was requested to make it 
known. That he would willingly do everything, suffer every- 
thing ; but that there would be nothing like a recantation." 

At last, Miltitz and Luther agreed upon two articles, which 
Luther thus stated to the Elector: "There is, in the first 
place, a general prohibition to be given to both parties, against 
preaching, writing, or treating upon this subject. His honour, 
Charles, will, in the second place, briefly write to the holy 
father, the Pope, the condition of all matters as he has found 
them, and endeavour to obtain from his papal holiness an in- 
junction, say, to some learned bishop, to investigate the cause, 
and to point out the articles which are erroneous, and which I 
am to retract. And then, having been shown my error, 1 will 
willingly retract the same, and not derogate from the honour 
and power of the holy Roman Church." 

Luther himself relates of these negotiations, that Miltitz had 
been furnished with more than seventy apostolical breves, in 
order to take him alive and bring him prisoner to Rome, but 
that, on his way, he had been smitten of God, that is, had been 
awed into forbearance by the great number of those that 
favoured Luther. That, on this account, he had exchanged his 
violent intentions for a very crafty and hypocritical benevo- 
lence. "But," says Luther, further, "he himself, in my pre- 
sence, betrayed what he had intended and determined in his 
heart, in that he said : 'O! dear Martin, 1 thought you were 
already an aged, worn-out theologian, sitting behind the stove 
and thus disputing with yourself ; but I perceive that you are 
yet an active, young, and strong man. And even if I had with 
me an army of twenty-five thousand men, I would not trust to 
bring you out of Germany. For on my journey I have made 



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repeated inquiries, as to how the people were disposed, and 
what they thought of you, when I found thus much: that 
w T here there is one on the Pope's side, there are at least three 
others on your side against the Pope.' Miltitz further said : 
4 That for a hundred years no case had given that idle race of 
men, the Cardinals and Romanists so much trouble, and that 
they would sooner expend ten thousand ducats upon this busi- 
ness than have it go any further.' " 

Thus, then, they parted in the most friendly manner, Miltitz 
inviting Luther, in the evening, to sup with him, besides ex- 
horting him with tears, and dismissing him with a kiss ; but 
Luther considered this kiss the kiss of a Judas, and said that 
he, on his part, likewise acted as though he did not understand 
these Italian tricks and crocodile tears. Luther, soon after- 
wards, at the desire of Miltitz, proposed the archbishops of 
Treves and of Salzburg and the bishop of Naumburg, as per- 
sons fit to be chosen as umpires in his business. 

But Miltitz, when at Leipzig, took Tetzel severely to task, 
and proved, by the agent of the Fuggers, at Leipzig, who had 
taken in the indulgence moneys, "That Tetzel had received 
one hundred and thirty florins a month for his trouble, had his 
expenses free, with a carriage and three horsemen as attend- 
ants, besides ten florins each month for his servant, not to 
mention what he had stolen and misapplied." 

Many other things, likewise, came to light, for instance : 
" That he had two children," &c. When Luther heard this, he 
said : "I am sorry for Tetzel that he has come into these 
straits, and that his deportment has been made so public. I 
would rather, if it could be, that he might be sustained with 
honour, as soon as he has, in any way, reformed. By his dis- 
grace I profit nothing, as by his praise I lose nothing." 

According to his promise to von Miltitz, Luther, under date 
of the 3d March, addressed a very humble letter to the Pope, in 
which he expressed his regret, that what he had undertaken 
with a view to rescue the honour of the Roman Church, had, 
with the highest authority itself, caused him to be suspected of 
disrespect towards that Church. That now, however, he did 
not know what he should do. The recantation which was de- 
manded, he would willingly publish, if that would only do any 
good. That his writings were spread further than he had ever 
imagined, and had struck too deep root in men's minds to be 
recalled. Through such a recantation, the Roman Church 



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107 



would only be more and more dishonoured and impeached be- 
fore all men. That those, whom he had opposed, who, in 
connection with their insipid preaching, had, under the Pope's 
name, practised the most detestable avarice, were the men 
who had brought the Roman Church into such disrepute in 
Germany, but who now, as if they had not done mischief 
enough, were accusing him as the author of what, by their 
folly, they themselves had caused. " But now," he continued, 
"most holy father, I declare before God and all his creatures, 
I have never wished, nor do I this day wish, in any way, to 
derogate from the authority of the Roman Church or of thy 
holiness, or secretly to plot against it. I much rather confess, 
that the power of this Church is above all things, and that 
nothing in heaven or on earth is to be exalted above it, ex- 
cepting alone Jesus Christ the Lord of all ; and I earnestly 
pray thy holiness not to yield a listening ear to those who 
slanderously speak differently of Luther. And the only thing, 
which, to my knowledge, I can do in this case, I cheerfully 
promise thy holiness : I shall, namely, in future, suffer this 
matter of indulgences to rest, and shall keep entirely silent 
with regard to it, (if my opponents will likewise desist from 
their empty boastings). I shall further cause a writing to be 
circulated among the people, from which every one shall per- 
ceive, that the Roman Church is to be sincerely honoured, and 
that the foolish attempts of these men are not to be laid to its 
charge ; that, moreover, none ought to imitate the severe style 
of writing against the Roman Church, which I have employed, 
yea, employed quite too much, and in which, whilst writing 
against those declaimers, I proceeded too far." 

The writing here promised appeared at the same time, un- 
der the title : " Instruction by Dr. Martin Luther, concerning 
several points, which have been charged upon and ascribed to him 
by his opponents." In it he treated of the intercession of the 
beloved saints, of purgatory, of indulgences, of the commands 
of the holy Church, of good works, and of the Roman Church, 
as follows : 

" That he firmly maintained, with all Christendom, that we 
ought to honour the beloved saints and pray to them, for that 
God, even at the present day, visibly works miracles near their 
bodies and their graves through their name. But it was true 
that he had said, that it was unchristian that men did not seek 
of the saints spiritual blessings oftener and more diligently 



108 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



than temporal goods. That it was foolish, too, to think, the 
saints had any ability or power to grant such things, as they 
can only intercede, as everything is done alone through God. 

" Concerning purgatory we are. firmly to believe, that the 
poor souls suffer distressing pain, and that it is our duty to aid 
them with praying, fasting, alms, and whatever we can ; but 
of what nature the pain is, and whether it s.erves only for ren- 
dering satisfaction, or also for producing a reformation, neither 
he nor any one else knew with sufficient certainty. Neither 
did he know how to maintain, ' That we may, by means of 
indulgences, rush into purgatory, and thus, by main force, pre- 
vent God's mysterious judgments;' let others believe it, he 
would not believe it unless it were better established. 

" As to indulgences, it is sufficient for the generality of men 
to know, that they are a deliverance from rendering satisfac- 
tion for sin, yet so, as to be much inferior to good works, which 
are commanded and which we are in duty bound to perform ; 
that indulgences are left free and optional, no one sins who 
purchases them, and no one merits anything either by purchas- 
ing them. What it is further necessary to know concerning 
them may be left to the learned men of the schools. 

" That God's command ought to be esteemed aboA^e the com- 
mand of the Church, as gold and gems above wood and straw, 
according to 1 Cor. 3. That he had not spoken against good 
works, but had preferred the right kind of good works to the 
inferior kinds. ' For,' says he, 'even if there were no command 
of the Church, we could still very well be pious through God's 
command. But if God's command is slighted, the command of 
the Church is nothing else but a pernicious cloak for sin, caus- 
ing outwardly a glossy appearance, whilst there is nothing 
good within. Therefore, too, my advice is, to have a part of 
the commands of the Church abolished in a council, so that 
God's commands may likewise be permitted again to shine, 
and to give light ; for by the lights of many commands, the 
daylight of the divine command has been almost entirely 
obscured.' 

" As to good works, he had said and still said, that no one 
can be pious and do right if God's grace did not first make him 
pious; that no one becomes pious through good works, but that 
good works are performed only by him who is pious, just as 
the fruit does not produce the tree, but the tree produces the 
fruit God desires that we despair of ourselves, our actions 



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109 



and good works, and see, that, with all our best works, we 
cannot stand before Him, but must place our confidence alone 
in his unbounded grace and mercy, and thus walk in fear. 
That the works and the life proceeding from a heart filled with 
such godly fear and humility, are good, and not those which 
outwardly appear good. 

" That the Roman Church was honoured of God above all 
others, and though the state of things at Rome was then a bad 
one, yet that was no cause for separation from this Church ; 
yea, the wo,rse matters stood there, the closer we ought to cling 
to her, for by tearing loose from and despising her, things were 
not in the least improved. But as to how far the power and 
authority of the Roman See should extend, that the learned 
should be left to decide ; the salvation of the soul being not at 
all bound to it. Let the power be as it may, great or small, as 
God distributes it, we ought to be content ; but union ought to 
be preserved, and papal commands should, by no means, be 
resisted. 

" Behold," says he, in conclusion, " now I hope it is manifest, 
that I do not wish to deprive the Roman Church of anything, 
as my dear friends have accused me. But that I do not 
approve the course of several hypocrites, in this, it seems to 
me I do right, and I am not to let bubbles frighten me to death ; 
the holy Roman See is to be followed in all things, yet no 
hypocrite is ever to be believed." 

Luther, undoubtedly, had much cause for this last protesta- 
tion, for even in Wittenberg, but few agreed with him, as far 
as the power of the Pope was concerned. 1 And Spalatin, like- 
wise, had twice reminded him to make mention, in his German 
defence, not only of faith and works, but likewise of obedience 
to the Roman Church. But he in return answered the latter, 
also, that it had never entered into his mind, to separate him- 
self from the apostolical Roman See. If the Roman decretals 
would only leave the Gospel untouched, as far as he was con- 
cerned, they might take away everything else. 

In the meantime, the emperor, Maximilian, had died, (Janu- 
ary the 17th, 1519,) and the Elector of Saxony had become 
regent of the realm. This, now, exerted a great influence 
upon Luther's cause, as he himself afterwards related : t After 
the death of Maximilian, and under the regency of the Elector, 
Frederick, the gust gradually diminished, and excommunica- 
tions or papal fulminations, began, by degrees, to be despised. 



ilO 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



Under the protection of this prince the Gospel flourished, and 
spread far and wide. His authority determined very many, 
for, as he was a very judicious and wise prince, none but the 
envious could suspect him of wishing to support and to protect 
heresy and heretics. This greatly injured the papacy." 

Under these circumstances, it now happened, too, that the 
Bishop of Brandenburg, on the occasion of a meeting with 
Luther, at Wittenberg, (in February,) did, indeed, greatly 
object to his undertaking such things, yet withal in a friendly 
way, for, Luther thought that the bishops now at length per- 
ceived, that it was their duty to do what they saw him do, and 
began to be somewhat ashamed on account of this. 

After many negotiations had been had with the Elector on 
Luther's account, 2 Miltitz, at length, demanded of the latter to 
come to Coblentz, and in presence of Cardinal Cajetan, to have 
a hearing before the Archbishop, Richard of Treves. For which 
purpose the latter likewise wrote to the Elector, who, however, 
before granting it, wished first himself to speak with the arch- 
bishop. But Luther, reminding Miltitz of what they had ar- 
ranged together, at Altenburg, answered, that he could not 
possibly come now, since, as Miltitz himself wrote, no com- 
mand had been received from Rome, neither had the arch- 
bishop any commission thence. That he could not thus blindly 
rush into danger, did not know either whence to obtain means 
to defray his expenses, as he had already proved so burden- 
some to his patrons, not to mention, that during the Interreg- 
num no safe conduct could be given. That, besides all this, 
the disputation to which John Eck had challenged him was at 
hand, and he could not, under existing circumstances, with- 
draw himself from it, without preparing for himself, his friends, 
his elector, his order and the university, the greatest disgrace. 
That he would not have this matter investigated before Car- 
dinal Cajetan, he having, whilst at Augsburg, endeavoured to 
draw him off from the Christian faith, wherefore he could not 
at all consider him a true Catholic Christian. That, finally, 
too, he was waylaid on all sides ; there having, but a short time 
previous, been a man at Wittenberg, who had been suspected 
of designs upon his life, and had been obliged to betake him- 
self to flight, to save himself from being cast into the Elbe. 
That suspicion had almost been entertained of Miititz's having 
been concerned in the matter. That he should, therefore, be 
pleased to excuse him. But if, as he wrote, he would be 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



Ill 



obliged, after the reception of the apostolical breves, to come 
himself ; then he prayed God to grant him a safe journey and 
arrival. 

Authorities. — The instruction to Miltitz and the papal breves, in 
Loscher, II., ch. 16. Tetzel's letter in Cyprian's Urkunden, in Teazel's 
hist. Bericht, &c, vol. I., p. 376. Let. 115, 108, 109, 123, 112, 120, 
124, 125, 140. Praf. Lutheri in Tomm. Latt. Titebb. Cyprian's 
Urk. I., 380. Luther's Instruction concerning several points, &c, in 
Loscher, III., ch. 6, and W., vol. 17, p. 224. 

Notes. 1.) Compare the letter of the Wittenberg jurist, Otto Beck- 
mann, in Losch., III., ch. 4. 

2.) To pursue these transactions into their details might lead too far. 
The correspondence in reference to them, is to b% found pretty complete 
in Loscher and Cyprian. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

THE DISCUSSION AT LEIPZIG. 

Dr. John Eck had, already, in the year 1516, become involved 
in a controversy with Karlstadt, who, as well as Luther, de- 
fended the doctrine of Augustine and Ambrosius, in reference 
to free-will ; he had, besides, afterwards, in his Obelisks, clan- 
destinely and maliciously assailed Luther, as well as his Theses 
on indulgences. (See ch. 4.) Karlstadt defended Luther, and 
likewise replied to Eck's challenge for a public disputation 
with him, saying that he would meet him, provided the ex- 
penses for that purpose were defrayed, safe-conduct given, and 
the arguments of each disputant dictated to faithful notaries 
for record. 

Whilst Luther was at Augsburg, he had agreed with Eck to 
have this disputation take place either at Leipzig or Erfurt, 
and, under date of the 15th November, 1518, he informed him, 
that Karlstadt left the choice of place and time to him. Eck, 
thereupon, (previously to the year 1519,) published a fugitive 
sheet, in which he stated, that, after Easter, he would dispute 
with Karlstadt, at Leipzig, but in the Theses advanced, he 
almost entirely passed by his controversy with Karlstadt, and 
directed his principal attack against Luther himself, because, 
(as he afterwards excused himself,) Karlstadt only supplied the 
latter's place, but Luther was the real originator of these false 
and erroneous doctrines, having disseminated the same all 



112 



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over Germany. Therefore he would have to come himself and 
defend his cause. 

Luther did indeed complain of the craftiness with which 
Eck endeavoured to draw him into the dispute, but wrote to 
his friends : " It will yet come to pass, that I shall, if Christ 
grant me grace, do what I have long since intended, namely, 
for once, in an unsparing discourse, to fall upon the Roman 
dragons in real earnest. Thus far I have, only in play and 
jest, assailed the cause of Rome, albeit they complain of it 
most bitterly, as if it had been insufferable earnest." But to 
his elector he wrote : " God knows I was perfectly in earnest, 
and was rejoiced to see the game thus have an end, which it 
would have had if* it had depended upon me, for I have so 
strictly observed that agreement (with Miltitz, see ch. 6.) as 
not even to notice Sylvester Prierat's repry, (see ch. 4,) not- 
withstanding the great provocation therein given me ; and in 
addition to all, have disregarded the insolent raillery of many 
of my opponents, maintaining silence even against the advice 
of my friends. But now, that Dr. Eck unexpectedly assails me 
in such a way as to show that he, having, in the estimation of 
many worthy men, been bribed for the purpose, endeavours to 
overwhelm with disgrace and dishonour, not me, but your 
electoral grace's whole university at Wittenberg : it has not 
seemed proper for me to despise these fickle and crafty 
manoeuvres, or to leave the truth to struggle for itself amidst 
such raillery. I am, nevertheless, still sincerely disposed, obe- 
diently, to follow your grace's faithful advice, and to observe 
silence in all cases, provided they likewise- do so ; for truly I 
have other matters to engage me, and I do not seek any grati- 
fication in these things. But if not, I most humbly pray your 
grace not to interpret the matter unfavourably to me, for I do 
not know how to satisfy my conscience and yet forsake the 
truth." 

The Elector replied, that he would permit the disputation to 
Luther, if Eck really wished to dispute with him and not with 
Karlstadt alone. The Leipzig theologians, on the other hand, 
and with them the bishop of Merseburg, did all in their power 
to prevent the discussion from taking place, but Duke George 
at last wrote with energy : " That it was certainly useful and 
necessary, duly to consider the question lately raised, to hear 
the arguments of both sides, and to ascertain, whether, in 
truth, the souls of the dead were, as soon as the money paid 



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113 



for indulgences tinkled in the box, delivered from purgatory 
and carried up to heaven, by which deception the foolish and 
simple populace were deprived of their money. That all 
Christendom was concerned in having the matter made known 
to every one, if any doctrine had been corrupted in conse- 
quence of the errors and the ignorance of teachers. But that, 
if the theologians could not assert and defend their office and 
title of honour, there would be less expense and more profit in 
supporting old women or young children, who, in time, would 
become more serviceable to the commonwealth, and much 
more obedient to the government than such theologians," &c. 
This proved effective ; the university gave its consent ; but 
Tetzel, on hearing that the disputation would certainly take 
place, is reported to have said : " May the devil reward them." 

Eck had opposed thirteen Theses to Luther, the last of which 
ran thus : " We deny that the Roman Church was not, before 
the times of Sylvester, the head over all the other churches, 
but we have always acknowledged him that sat upon the 
chair of St. Peter, and had his faith, as the successor of St 
Peter, and vicegerent of Christ." 

To this Luther opposed : " That the Roman Church is the 
head over all other churches, is proved from the most absurd de- 
cretals of the Roman Popes, which have come into existence only 
within the last four hundred years : opposed to these, are the 
authentic accounts of eleven hundred years, the text of the holy 
Scriptures, and the decree of the most reverend Council of Nice:' 1 

He well knew that this Thesis had been wrung from him 
by Eck, and with how sly an opponent he had to deal ; he 
well knew, too, that the latter aimed at nothing else but to 
draw upon him the fulminations of the Pope ; he, nevertheless, 
very powerfully comforted his anxious friend, Spalatin, and 
among other things wrote to him : " Only do you permit my 
friends to consider me beside myself. This business (if it be of 
God) will not be brought to an end, till, just as the disciples 
and friends of Christ forsook him, so likewise, all my friends 
forsake me, and truth be left to remain alone : she will main- 
tain herself with her own right hand, not with thine, not with 
mine, nor with that of any other man. In short, if I perish, the 
world will not perish with me. The Wittenbergers have, by 
the grace of God, already come so far, as not to need me. 
What do you want ? I, poor man, am afraid only that I am not 
worthy to suffer and to die in such a cause : this happiness, I 

8 



114 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



fear, is reserved for better men than for so hateful a sinner. I 
have told you, that I am at all times ready to leave this place, 
if my stay should involve our most serene prince in any 
danger." 

Dr. Eck had fixed the beginning of the discussion on the 
27th June. About this time Duke George came to Leipzig 
himself, granted his castle of Pleissenburg, too, for the purpose, 
causing its largest saloon to be cleared and arranged as a lec- 
ture room, by having it most handsomely adorned with desks, 
of which there were two, one opposite to the other, besides 
seats as well as tables for the notaries, the seats and desks 
being all of them decked with beautiful tapestry. That of the 
Wittenbergers was ornamented with the portrait of St. Martin, 
that of Dr. Eck with the portrait of St. George. He gave 
command to the Council to have proper lodgings prepared for 
the guests, and in order to prevent all tumult, the city militia 
was to be under arms. 

Dr. Eck came to Leipzig quite early, even previously to the 
feast called Corpus Christi, and on the day of the feast walked 
along in the procession, which was held there, and which was 
exceedingly gorgeous and splendid ; being clothed in his cha- 
suble, (gown.) and in company with the theologians, he made 
himself quite conspicuous previously to the disputation, as if 
he entertained no fear of the Wittenbergers. Friday after 
Corpus Christi, (the 24th June.) those of Wittenberg made 
their entry. Now these were Dr. Karlstadt, Dr. Luther, and 
with them Dr. John Lang, vicar of the Augustines, Philip Me- 
lanchthon, two Licentiates of theology, of whom Nicolaus 
Amsdorf was one, three Doctors of law, as likewise many 
Magisters and students. They entered by the Grim ma gate, 
their students running along-side of their vehicles, with spears 
and halberds, thus accompanying their professors. Dr. Karl- 
stadt preceded, then followed Dr. Martin and Philip, likewise 
in a travelling car, none of them having a covered carriage. 
And as they thus entered by the Grimma gate and were oppo- 
site the entrance to the church-yard of St. Paul's church, Karl- 
stadt's carriage all at once broke down, so that he, the Doctor, 
was precipitated into the mud. But Dr. Martin and Philip 
Melanchthon drove past, so that the people, who witnessed 
this, said : " This one will prevail, but the other will fail." 
They had scarcely alighted from their carriages, when an 
order of the bishop of Mcrseburg was posted up on the doors 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



115 



of the churches, in which the disputation was forbidden. But 
this prohibition was disregarded, and the man that had posted 
it up was imprisoned by order of the Council, because he had 
done so without permission from the latter. 

In the lodgings, the Wittenberg students disputed very vio- 
lently with those of Leipzig. Thus, for instance, there was, at 
the house of Herbipolis, the printer, a master of arts at table, 
who lived in the house, and whose name was Baumgartner ; he 
was a Dominican monk, and had, for a long time, travelled 
about with Tetzel, assisting him, by his preaching, in vending 
the Pope's indulgences ; the same became so enraged against 
the Wittenbergers, that the host was obliged to station a man 
near with a halberd, in order to preserve peace at table, whilst 
the Wittenbergers were sitting there eating. 

On Sunday, the 26th June, it was arranged and determined 
at the castle that Karlstadt should begin the disputation with 
Eck, that the proceedings should be recorded by notaries, the 
records of the disputation, however, not to be printed till a 
decision had first been obtained in reference to them. 2 On 
Monday, all the strangers from Wittenberg and Ingolstadt pro- 
ceeded to the great hall of assembly, where Dr. Simon Pistor, 
on the part of the university, received the guests, in a Latin 
speech ; hereupon all went to the church of St. Thomas, and 
the Leipzig Magisters brought the Wittenbergers with them. 

There a mass de sancta spiritu was chanted, a mass with 
twelve parts, which had never been heard before. 3 After mass 
they returned to the castle, where one-fourth of the citizens 
were stationed in their armour, with their best weapons and 
their standards, being required, in order to preserve peace, to 
be in the castle twice each day, as long as the disputation con- 
tinued, from seven to nine o'clock in the forenoon, and from 
two to five in the afternoon ; for there was collected a great 
crowd of people, who came to see how the affair would end — 
men of all ranks, abbots, counts, knights, the learned and un- 
learned. Duke Barnim, of Pomerania, who, at that time, 
was Rector at Wittenberg, had accompanied the rest to Leip- 
zig, to the disputation, and did not neglect one of the meetings, 
listening much more attentively than any of the Leipzig theo- 
logians and collegiates, who always sat beside Dr. Eck, soundly 
asleep; so attentively did they listen, and so interesting was 
the disputation to them, that it commonly became necessary to 
awaken them at the close of each disputation, that they might 



116 THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 

not miss their meals. Duke George was not himself present 
at the beginning of the disputation: he, however, afterwards 
frequently attended and listened with attention. All being 
now seated, Petrus Mosellanus, professor of eloquence at Leip- 
zig, arose and delivered a Latin discourse on the proper mode 
of disputing ; and when he had concluded, there were musicians 
appointed by him, who performed the Veni Sancte Spiritus, 
(Come, Holy Spirit,) during which all present reverently knelt 
down. Upon this, they proceeded to dinner, and the discussion 
did not begin till two o'clock in the afternoon, when it was 
opened between Eck and Karlstadt. 

But Peter Mosellanus thus portrays the disputants : " Martin 
is of the middle size, of a spare frame, and so worn down by 
cares and study, that if you behold him near, you can number 
almost all the bones of his body. He is in the prime of man- 
hood, and has a clear and penetrating voice. His learning and 
knowledge of the Scriptures are so admirable that he is at 
home in almost everything. Of the Greek and the Hebrew he 
has learned so much as to be able to judge of the explanations. 
He is at no loss as to matter for discourse, for he has an extra- 
ordinary stock of things and words at his command. In the 
common intercourse of life he is polite and friendly, having 
nothing gloomy or haughty about him, and knowing how to 
adapt himself to circumstances. In society he is agreeable, 
lively, and at all times of a good courage and a serene coun- 
tenance, no matter what evil designs his enemies may have 
against him, all which constrains one to believe that he does 
not undertake such important things without the assistance of 
God. Men, pretty generally, however, find fault with him for 
being more unsparing and sarcastic in reproving others, than 
one who advances anything new in theology should venture to 
be, or than is becoming a theologian. 

"All these things nearly are found in Karlstadt, in an inferior 
degree. Only he is of smaller stature, his complexion is dark 
and swarthy, his voice hollow and unpleasant, he is of a 
weaker memory, and more easily excited to anger. 

" Eck, on the contrary, is tall, strongly-built and square, has 
a full and altogether German voice, coming forth from a pair 
of powerful lungs, so that he would not only make an actor, 
but even a town-crier ; it is, however, more coarse than clear. 
His countenance, eyes, and all his features are of that kind 
which sooner leads one to take him for a butcher or a soldier, 



THE TIME OP THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



117 



than for a theologian. His memory is excellent, and if his 
understanding were equally so, one would have to regard him 
as a finished specimen of nature's workmanship : but he is 
deficient in quickness of comprehension and acuteness of judg- 
ment Hence it comes, that in disputing, he, without any re- 
flection whatever, heaps up, one upon the other, so many 
arguments, quotations from the Scriptures, and assertions from 
authors, not at all perceiving how weak these arguments mostly 
are, how the quotations, properly explained from the context, 
prove nothing at all on the point in dispute, and how unwar- 
ranted and sophistical those assertions are ; for he is intent 
only upon heaping up a chaos of matter, in order to mislead 
the audience, who are the most part unlearned, and to gain for 
himself the appearance of superiority. To this must also be 
added his incredible boldness, for as soon as he perceives that 
!he has been drawn into the net which his opponent has set for 
him, he has the adroitness, gradually to give the discussion 
quite a different direction." 

Eck, at the commencement, disputed with Karlstadt, (on the 
27th and 28th June, and 1st and 3d July,) concerning the free- 
dom of the will, whether a co-operation could be ascribed to it 
in the performance of good works, which Karlstadt had denied 
in his Theses. 

On the 29th June, it being the day of Peter-and-Paul, Luther 
was called upon by the Rector of the university of Wittenberg, 
Duke Barnim, of Pomerania, to preach before him in the 
castle chapel. When this was noised abroad in the city, there 
flocked in to hear him so large a number of people, of both 
sexes, that he was under the necessity of preaching in the dis- 
putation saloon. He showed, that in the Gospel for that festi- 
val, Matt. 16, 13-19, all the subjects of the whole disputation 
were comprised. In the first place, on the grace of God and the 
freedom of our will. The Lord here teaches, that flesh and 
blood, or what it can do, is vain, since no one is able, by the 
revelation of flesh and blood, to know Christ, much less, there- 
fore, to follow him ; but the Father in heaven must reveal it to 
him, as happened to St Peter. In the second place, on the 
power of St. Peter. It is not necessary, however, that common 
people should dispute much concerning St. Peter's or the Pope's 
power: it is more important for them to know how to use that 
power for their salvation. It is true, the keys are given to St. 
Peter, but not to him as to his person, but as representing the 



128 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



Christian Church, and they are just as much given to every 
one of us, for the comfort of our consciences. When any one 
feels himself wavering and doubting in his heart, as to whether 
he have the favour of God or not, then it is high time that he 
should go to the altar or to the priest, and ask absolution for 
his sins, thus seeking the power and comfort of the keys. 
Therefore the power of the keys does not help the priest as 
priest, but only sinful and trembling consciences, which 
receive grace through faith. 

Luther, as he himself said, gained little favour with the in- 
habitants of Leipzig by this sermon. Eck was appointed and 
preached four times in different churches, assailing everything' 
Luther had said, and, according to his own confession, exciting 
the people against him. But Luther, although many requested 
it, was not permitted to preach again, and the ducal counsellor 
and commissary, Cesar Pflug, on hearing that Luther had 
preached, said : " I wish Dr. Martin had deferred his sermon 
till his return to Wittenberg." 

The discussion between Luther and Eck, on the primacy of 
the Pope, began on the fourth of July. 4 Luther protested, from 
the very beginning, that he would willingly, from reverence 
for the papal See and Roman Church, have passed by this 
needless and exceedingly odious subject, if the proposition of 
Dr. Eck had not compelled him to take it up. Eck rejoined, 
that former assertions of Luther had induced him to advance 
it, and he now attacked Luther's view, by assuming that the 
Church must have a head. Luther replied : " That this was 
very true, and that it had never entered into his mind to defend 
the opposite." Eck : " Well, then, but who shall be, or who 
ever has been this head, if not the Bishop of Rome, who was 
so regarded already by Cyprian and Jerome ? * Luther in 
reply, said : '* That he did not acknowledge any man but 
Christ himself as the head of the Church militant, and this on 
the authority of the Holy Scriptures. If the Pope were the 
head of the Church, then the Church would, at the death of a 
Pope, be without a head till another was elected. That the 
Scripture passages which had been adduced, treated of some- 
thing else, or were against Eck. That Cyprian declared the 
Roman Bishop the head only of his congregation, considering 
him as his equal and therefore calling him brother. That ihe- 
Oriental Church had never acknowledged the Pope, and yet 
was not, on that account, heretical. That Jerome ascribed to 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. H9 

the Bishop of Rome a human power, on account of divi- 
sions," &c. 

Thus, with testimony from the Scriptures and the fathers of 
the Church, they disputed, till the 8th July, whether the Pope 
had his primacy from divine or only from human authority, the 
passages, Matt. 16, and John 21, being particularly examined 
on the occasion. Eck's principal aim was, to make Luther 
suspected of Bohemian heresy ; but the latter repeatedly com- 
plained of the insidiousness of this attempt, and guarded him- 
self against the charge of favouring the Bohemians. That 
these had done very wrong in arbitrarily separating themselves 
from the pale of the Church. But that he, in like manner, on 
the other hand, considered it improvident and overbearing to 
exile from the Church, and to banish from heaven, the many 
thousand martyrs and saints of the Greek Church, simply 
because of their having never been subject to the Pope. On 
his further saying: "That several doctrines of Huss or of the 
Bohemians were undoubtedly quite Christian and evangelical," 
Duke George, with a loud voice, which was heard over the 
whole auditory, exclaimed : " Heaven forbid ! " shook his head, 
and planted both arms in his sides. 

On the 8th July, (in the afternoon,) and the following day, 
Luther and Eck disputed concerning the doctrine of purgatory. 
Luther denied the existence of any ground for it in the Scrip- 
tures, and said he knew nothing further concerning it than 
that the souls in it were compelled to suffer and needed the 
aid of our works and prayers ; that he opposed only the 
opinions of the fathers, who had set up as a fixed article of 
faith what they were not able to substantiate. 

Then on Monday, the 11th July, Luther and Eck disputed 
concerning indulgences, on the 12th concerning repentance, 
whether it must flow from love to God, or might too, as Eck 
maintained, proceed from fear of punishment ; on the 13th, 
finally, concerning absolution and satisfaction, when, with the 
forenoon of the 14th, the disputation between these two was 
closed, the discussion being continued for two more days be- 
tween Eck and Karlstadt. 

On the 10th, the master of arts, John Lange, delivered a 
valedictory address, and the chanter of St. Thomas, George 
Rhau, performed a Te Deum Laudamus, and thus the disputa- 
tion was closed, and the Wittenbergers again returned to their 
homes. 5 The business would, perhaps, not yet have been at 



120 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



an end, if information had not been received, that the Mar- 
grave Joachim, of Brandenburg, returning from the assembly 
of princes, held at Frankfort, would soon arrive, thus jnaking 
it necessary to have the castle put in readiness for his reception. 

Luther complained that the Leipzig theologians had neither 
greeted nor visited him and Karlstadt, but had, so to speak, 
treated them as if they were the worst enemies ; whilst they 
had accompanied Eck, kept about his person, dined with him, 
given him invitations, presented him with a garment and 
camlet, had taken pleasure rides with him, and had, in short, 
done everything they could devise, in order to bring the Wit- 
tenbergers into contempt ; besides all which they had likewise 
persuaded Cesar Pflug and the Duke to approve of such con- 
duct. That they had shown them this one favour, according 
to custom, to make them a present of wine, as they could not 
well have omitted doing that. That those who had been 
favourably disposed towards the Wittenbergers, had, so to 
speak, been obliged to come to them clandestinely; yet Dr. 
Auerbach, this man of excellent judgment, and the Ordinarius, 
Dr. Pistor, junior, had given them invitations. That Duke 
George likewise had invited them along with the rest. The 
latter declared the dispute between Luther and Eck, concern- 
ing the primacy of the Pope, to be a useless one, saying : 
"Whether the Pope be Pope in virtue of divine or of human 
right, he is and remains Pope." Having once called Luther to 
him privately, he conversed much with him concerning his 
writings, especially his explanation of the Lord's prayer, accus- 
ing him that he was appealed to by the Bohemians. That he 
had, by his explanation of the Lord's prayer, so confused the 
consciences of many, that they declared themselves unable, in 
four days, to pray one pater noster, if they followed him. But 
Luther afterwards remarked, that he was not so simple as not 
to have been able to distinguish between the flute and him 
who performed on it ; that it, however, had grieved him, that 
a prince so pious and so deserving of honour, should be so 
liable to be influenced and guided by the passions of others; 
inasmuch as what he had spoken of himself, had always been 
very worthy of such a prince. 

Eck — says Mosellanus — triumphed in the estimation of all 
those that understood nothing of the matter, or who, from some 
other cause, were unfavourably disposed towards the Witten- 
bergers, But that the victory of Luther and Karlstadt had 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



121 



been less distinguished, just in proportion as there were few 
men learned and competent enough to judge, as well as 
because they themselves were too modest to trumpet abroad 
their own praise. 

Luther himself was of opinion, that the time consumed at the 
disputation had been wasted, whilst the cause of truth had not 
been promoted, and that if Eck and his adherents assumed 
praise to themselves, their consciences would tell them differ- 
ently. That, as far as Eck was concerned, he had never 
spoken to the point, or at least, only with the most common-place 
arguments. That the Wittenbergers had, even two years pre- 
vious, much more acutely and effectively attacked all these 
Theses, having borne down upon them so severely that all the 
bones in them might have been numbered, whilst Eck had 
scarcely scratched the surface of the skin. 

Melanchthon, under date of the 21st July, published a letter 
addressed to John CEcolampadius, in which he gave a succinct 
account of the disputation. Eck felt himself aggrieved by this, 
and under date of the 25th, published a reply, in which he, 
throughout, calls Melanchthon a grammarian, and says of him 
that he indeed understood Greek and Latin, but was not the 
man with whom a theologian could dispute on theological 
subjects. Melanchthon knew how to answer him, but Luther 
was quite indignant at Eck, that he reproached Melanchthon 
with his professorship as grammarian, whilst the latter was 
far better versed in the Scriptures than all the Ecks together, 
and understood enough, too, of the wretched Eckian theology. 
That he, in his investigations, valued the opinion of one Philip 
more than that of many thousand wretched Ecks, and that, 
although he was master of the liberal arts, of philosophy and 
theology, and possessed nearly all the titles that Eck did, he 
was yet not ashamed, if this grammarian was of a different 
opinion, to depart from his own. That he had often done this, 
and still did it, because of the gift which God, in the richness 
of his grace, had poured into this frail, but by Eck despised, 
vessel. "I do not," says he, in conclusion, " praise Philip, he 
is a creature of God, and I respect in him only the work of my 
God ; so neither do I take exception to Eck, but from my 
whole heart I abhor this disgraceful cunning, which attempts 
to excite strife and envy, and which I have never yet witnessed 
in such magnitude and combined with such malice, as in 
Eck." 



122 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



Thus, Luther, in a letter of the 15th August, writes to Spa- 
latin, 6 to whom he dedicated the substantiation of the Theses 
which he had maintained against Eck at the Leipzig discus- 
sion. In connexion with the thirteen Theses, he refers the 
reader to his more comprehensive treatise on it, and in conclu- 
sion declares, that he did once more, by way of repetition, ac- 
knowledge and defend the primacy of the Pope, how great 
soever it might be, might have been, or might yet become, 
only he considered it a new doctrine to attempt supporting it 
by divine right, as none of the ancient fathers who had con- 
scientiously and carefully inquired into everything pertaining 
to faith, knew anything of such an article of faith, neither had 
they, in their actions and their life, conformed to it, but that 
they should, on this account, all be pronounced heretics, he 
could by no means endure. " It makes me prouder every day," 
says he, " to see my name more and more reproached for the 
truth, that is, Christ must increase, but I must decrease. I am 
more rejoiced at the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride, 
than I am terrified at the hue and cry of wanton suitors. I am 
convinced that the men who so oppose me are not the authors 
of the evil themselves, and I do not hate them on account of it; 
but Behemoth, the father of evil, whom I discover in his shady 
retreat, would, if he could, like to become a terror to me, and 
on this occasion expel the truth from his realm. But He that 
is in us, is mightier than he that is in the world ; if He be our 
guide, the enemy shall fail of success. Amen." 

In the meantime, (on the 23d July,) Eck had written to the 
Elector of Saxony concerning the disputation, preferring many 
charges against Luther and Karlstadt. The Elector had this 
letter sent to his two Wittenberg doctors, who defended them- 
selves at large in a writing of the 18th August, which, being 
sent to Dr. Eck, was again answered in detail by the latter, 
under date of the 8th November. Against Luther's commu- 
nication to Spalatin, (see above,) Eck likewise published a 
written defence, (Expurgatio,) which Luther in return refuted 
in a published letter. 

Upon this Eck went to Rome, and returned with the 
bull of excommunication against Luther. Thus ended the 
Leipzig discussion. 

Authorities. — Andr. Carolostadii defensio adv. I. Eccii monoma- 
chiam. Let., No. 92, 119, 116, 130, (compare Eck's letter to Luther, 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



123 



in Loscher, III., ch. 8,) 126, 132, (compare Vogel's Leipz. Annalen, 
p. 95,) 135, 136. Sebastian Froschel's (an eye-witness, at that time 
Master at Leipzig, subsequently deacon at Wittenberg) account of the 
Leipzig discussion, in the preface to his work on the kingdom of 
Christ. Petri Mosellani, Ep. ad. Jul. Pflug. Eccii relatio ad Ingoi- 
stadienses, in Seckend., p. 85. The (registered) Acta of the discussion 
in Loscher, ib. Let., No. 147, (and Eccii Ep. ad Hogstrat.,) 149. Me- 
lanchthon's and Eck's correspondence, Corp. Reform., T. I., Epist. 
Mel., lib. II., 43, 44, 48. Lutheri Resolutiones, the correspondence 
between Eck, the Elector, Luther and Karlstadt, as well as the other 
controversial writings in Loscher, III., ch. 10, (compare Let., No. 151, 
152, 170.) Nearly all the writings pertaining to the Leipz. disc, are 
collected in Loscher, vol. 3. 

Notes. — 1.) At what time these Theses and anti-Theses were first 
drawn up, and why the Thesis which caused so great a sensation, was 
first called the twelfth but afterwards the thirteenth, does not appear to 
the author to be sufficiently elucidated as yet. Of the thirteenth Thesis 
Luther wrote an especial explanation, (in which he, in the first place, 
reviews the Scripture passages adduced in support of the primacy of the 
Pope, then shows that the canons or decretals cannot prove anything, 
and finally brings forward the most convincing arguments to sustain his 
position,) but which, probably, was not printed till sometime afterwards. 

2. ) It is said that they agreed to leave the matter for decision to the 
universities of Paris, Cologne, Louvaine and Erfurt. Loscher, III., 
p. 819. 

3. ) The Cantor, George Rhau, who directed this mass, subsequently 
was printer at Wittenberg, and printed many of Luther's works. 

4. ) Luther's position in reference to this, as well as in reference 
nearly to the whole discussion, was a very difficult one : his convictions 
were, as yet, all progressive and forming, many things he at that time 
did not yet venture to maintain, because he was not yet fully satisfied, 
in his own mind, with regard to them. Hence the want of assurance 
which he evinces, in the discussion concerning purgatory, for instance. 

5. ) Luther had left somewhat earlier. Loscher, III., p. 557. 

6. ) It seems that at that time only this letter was published by way 
of preface to the explanations, but that these themselves did not appear 
till afterwards. 



CHAPTEPv IX. 

NEW FOES AND NEW FRIENDS, NEW CONTESTS AND FRESH COURAGE. 

The Leipzig discussion being over, there daily arose new ene- 
mies against Luther. 

The Franciscans, of the austere order, had, already, in April, 
(1519,) during a convention held at Juterbock, put together 
fourteen of Luther's Theses, which they had designated as 



124 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



heretical, and sent to the Bishop of Brandenburg, with the 
complaint, that Luther had rent the seamless coat of Christ, 
that is, the unity of the Church. Luther had replied to 
them, in a communication dated the 15th March: "That it 
was not right for them to endeavour to blacken his character, 
without first fraternally admonishing him. They should make 
good their indiscretion, or he would have their writing printed 
and published, and would so refute it that it should not bring 
their order much honour. That their order despised learning, 
wherefore they should observe silence on such subjects." To 
this emphatic declaration, he had appended a short but severe 
explanation of the points assailed. 

The Franciscans observed silence, but engaged Dr. Eck to 
continue the controversy, who, (in August.) delivered an expla- 
nation of those fourteen Theses — a fifteenth he had added him- 
self — to the Bishop of Brandenburg, by whom it was extensive- 
ly circulated. Luther replied in a detailed publication, and 
proved upon Eck and the Franciscans, from their own writ- 
ings, twenty-four erroneous Theses. He, indeed, when the 
provincial of the Franciscans sent to him several members of 
his order, with the request to suppress the writing, was willing 
to do so, if they could induce the Leipzig printer, Lotter, who 
was already engaged in the printing of it, to comply ; but it 
probably was too late. 

Another opponent Luther found in Dr. Jerome Emser, pro- 
fessor of canon law, at Leipzig. The latter published a letter, 
under date of the 13th August, and addressed it to Dr. Zack, 
administrator of the Catholic Church, at Prague, in which he 
attempted to show that the Bohemian brethren could, by no 
means, claim Luther as their ally, since he had, while at Leip- 
zig, defended himself against no charge of Eck's more earnest- 
ly, than when the latter had endeavoured to represent him as 
favouring the Bohemians, and that this had been the greatest 
advantage resulting from the discussion, that Luther had so 
unequivocally renounced them. And although he had said, 
that some of the articles of IIuss which had been condemned, 
were truly Christian, it was to be answered, that heretics had 
this in common, that they mixed up truth with falsehood. As 
to Luther's assertions in reference to the primacy of the Pope, 
the matter was not yet decided, and even if he were in the 
right, it would not be of any benefit to the Bohemians, for even 
if the Pope were Pope in virtue only of human right, all would, 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



125 



nevertheless, have to obey him. He, at the same time, briefly- 
attacked Luther's position. 

Luther, upon this, issued a writing to Emser, under the title: 
" Ad aegocerotem Emserianum M. Lutheri responsio," (that is, 
answer of Luther to the Emserian he-goat, 1 ) in which he, in- 
dignant at Emser's duplicity, as who, by this pretended justifi- 
cation, had aimed only at rendering him odious, 2 rejects 
Emser's praise as the kiss of a Judas, and shows, in particular, 
that it was not at all a necessary consequence, that he must be 
favourably disposed towards the Bohemians, simply because 
his declarations met their approbation ; for then the sacra- 
ments, the whole Bible, the holy Fathers, would all be hereti- 
cal, since the Bohemians approved of them. That many other 
things besides these, met the approbation of the Bohemians : 
Christ, the saints, and all good creatures of God — must they, 
therefore, all be heretical ? " I daily," continues he, " receive 
letters from learned men, residing in different parts of the 
world, who all wish the truth success, and are apprehensive 
only, lest being discouraged by the insidious attacks of yourself 
and others like you, I might desist from the good beginning 
and retract. What do you make of them ? Consult the logic 
of Eck, and you will instantly have them all Bohemians, for 
they read no other books from me but those which the Bohe- 
mians read. What need I trouble myself? If the Bohemians 
are of my opinion, they are of the right opinion ; but with that 
I have not yet pronounced good their separation or their errors, 
and I do not stand in need of your patronage in order to be 
freed from this suspicion ; for I hope you will rejoice that the 
Bohemians likewise agree with you in teaching the doctrine 
of the trinity, of Christ, and of all other articles of faith." At 
the close of this very severe writing, Luther, notwithstanding, 
adds : " You will not believe it, with how many witticisms, 
ironical and satirical remarks, my old man has inspired me 
against you, but which have again been suppressed by my 
Christ, because he cannot altogether despair, but that you may 
yet change your malicious disposition." And finally he com- 
plains thus : " How long shall I waste my time and labour with 
writing about indulgences and the power of the Roman Bishop, 
with things which have nothing at all to do with faith in God, 
or with our salvation ? Truly we live in sad times : in the 
same deplorable way John Reuchlin has already lost many 
years over his dispute. But wo to the turbulent authors of 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



such evils, who, without cause, rave against their neighbour's 
welfare. Only let us, too, apprehend an equally lamentable 
or even a worse conclusion of this tragedy. I have often 
wished, with all peaceful people, to observe silence ; but, 
thanks be to Christ, against the brawling and the furious, my 
confidence is fresh enough yet. I will love all, fear none. 
Adieu." 

Emser replied to this in a detailed writing, 3 which appeared 
in the month of November, and in which, though he greatly 
complained of Luther's severe style of writing, he yet answered 
the letter in the same strain, and, notwithstanding all his pro- 
testations of sincerity, confirmed Luther's suspicions. From 
that time forward Luther had an open enemy in Emser. 

In the meantime the Bohemians had actually applied to 
Luther. On the 3d October, Luther received from the electo- 
ral court, through Spalatin, letters from two Hussite clergymen 
of Prague, the curate, John Paduschka, and the provost of the 
Emperor Charles' college, Wenceslaus Rosdialovinus, which 
dated back from the 16th and 17th July. In them they say 
that they had read his writings with joy, and they exhort him 
not to neglect the grace of God that was in him, and thus en- 
danger the salvation of many, but willingly to bear the reproach 
of Christ. That there were very many faithful and worthy 
people in Bohemia, who, with their prayers, day and night 
supported him. The former made him a present of knives, the 
latter of a book of John Huss, adding : " This one thing I know, 
that what John Huss once was in Bohemia, that, O, Martin, 
thou art in Saxony." 

Soon after this there came a messenger of the Bohemians 
to Wittenberg, to whom Luther delivered copies of all his 
writings, and with whom a written answer was sent, which 
Melanchthon, in the presence and with the consent of the 
other friends, as likewise of the Bohemian himself, dictated in 
the cloister. 

This approximation of the Bohemians displeased the adver- 
saries exceedingly, and there arose the ridiculous report — the 
originator of which Luther suspected the Leipzig Prof. Jerome 
Diingersheim, of Ochsenfart, 4 to be — that Luther was descended 
from Bohemian parents. There was one circumstance, in par- 
ticular, which came to the aid of this, that Luther, namely, 
(probably in the beginning of the month of December,) pub- 
lished a sermon concerning the highly -revered sacrament of the 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



127 



holy and true body of Christ, in which this sentence occurred : 
" It would, in my estimation, be well for the Church in a gene- 
ral council, again to ordain, that both kinds be given to all the 
people as well as to the priests. Not because one kind would 
not be enough, but because it would be becoming and seemly 
to administer the sacrament, not only as a part of the form and 
sign, but in its entire form ; just as I have said of baptism, that 
it would be more proper to immerse in the water than to pour 
it, and this for the sake of the fulness and completeness of the 
sign." 5 

There was a great cry raised about this. Firstly, Duke 
George, of Saxony, wrote to the Elector, under date of the 
27th December: "That Luther's book was regarded as savour- 
ing considerably of Prague, and as, in fact, bearing with it 
much heresy and scandal." That he, the Duke, was credibly 
informed, " that the curate of Leitmeritz, besides two citizens 
of that place, had been with Luther, as well as repeatedly sent 
messages to him, whilst they were yet arch-heretics." So like- 
wise, that the number of the Utraquists had been increased by 
more than six thousand persons since the publication of his 
sermon. That the Elector certainly could not desire this, and 
would, as being the oldest and most Christian Elector, under- 
stand this matter better than he could write upon it, and 
would, no doubt, make the best disposition of things to prevent 
scandal and injury to Christendom. 

The Elector replied to this on the 29th : " That he had never 
attempted to defend Dr. Martin's sermons or disputations. And 
that, although he did not know what the book referred to pre- 
tended to be, he yet heard, that thus far this same Martin's 
doctrines were, by many learned and intelligent men, esteemed 
and considered Christian. That it would grieve him exceed- 
ingly, if in his day, erroneous doctrines should arise in his 
brother's the Duke's and his own dominions, or in other parts, 
but much more yet if they should be furthered by him, from 
which might God preserve him." 

The letter of the Duke and the cry which was raised con- 
cerning the sermon, particularly at Leipzig, occasioned Luther 
to publish an explanation of several points in his sermon con- 
cerning the highly -revered sacrament, &c, in which he says: 
" That the Bohemians were not called heretics because they 
used both kinds, for this not even the Roman Church had ever 
considered heresy, it having much rather permitted it to the 



128 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



Bohemians. Yes, that it was reproaching Christ, and blas- 
pheming the holy Gospel and the sacrament, to consider the 
use of both kinds heresy, since Christ had instituted it under 
both forms, and the whole Church over the whole world had 
used it so for many hundred years. That it was not at all 
heresy with which they had to do in this case, but schism and 
division. That both parties, therefore, should amicably agree, 
or if this could not be, each permit the other, without molesta- 
tion, to pursue its own course. That he heard of there being 
three parties in Bohemia. The first, the Pighards, he con- 
sidered heretics ; of the other party, the Grubenhainers, he 
knew nothing, could therefore pronounce them neither heretics 
nor Christians ; of the third party, called the Utraquists, he 
heard, that they in no respect believed or acted differently from 
other Christians, excepting in using both kinds. That conse- 
quently they were not heretics, but schismatics. Therefore," 
continues Luther, " my request would be, that both Bohemians 
and Romans desist from their obstinacy, and, either by adopt- 
ing one form, be it one or both kinds, or else two forms, be 
amicable and united. And here love on our part should be 
more concerned for the salvation of the Bohemians, than for 
augmenting our own power and authority ; again, the Bohe- 
mians should more pursue a course of union, obedience, and 
subjection to power, than follow their own conceits of freedom. 
For though the Gospel gives them power and liberty to have 
both forms, yet they are bound more to seek union, which is 
represented in the sacrament. Again, though we have the 
power or the majority on our side, we are still more to follow 
the dictates of love. 1 All things are lawful for me, but all 
things are not expedient/ says St. Paul ; we are not to do 
everything which is lawful for us, but what love to our neigh- 
bour requires. I hear, however, that the greatest difficulty is 
occasioned by the Bohemians having, in the schism, acquired 
possession of spiritual estates, which are desired back again. 
In case this is true, it is truly sad, that division and heresy are 
endured, sooner than that claims upon temporal, accursed pro- 
perty are given up. And here I consider both parties to be in the 
wrong. For Romanists and Bohemians are to yield the cloak 
with the coat, in obedience to the gospel, and it is sinful that 
the great heads do not use means amicably to adjust this mat- 
ter." Finally, he refers to the rumour of his being born in Bo- 
hemia, educated at Prague, instructed in Wickliff 's books/&c, 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



129 



and says : "Truly it is right, that those who resist the truth, 
should invent and firmly and seriously believe such frivolous, 
ridiculous, and foolish things." 

Luther was constantly making progress in his search for 
truth. He was certain that he is no heretic who does not be- 
lieve in purgatory ; he was opposed to the introduction of new 
ceremonies, because there were more ceremonies in the Church 
already than were necessary, and because nothing was more 
to be feared, than that the spirit would be lost in consequence 
of them ; he would admit nothing to be a sacrament to which 
there was not attached a definite divine promise, to excite and 
keep alive faith, " for," said he, " without a word of promise, 
and the faith of him who receives it, we have nothing to do 
with God, and whatever has been said about the seven sacra- 
ments is all fabulous." He was of good courage, however, for 
he could say : " I have yielded up and offered myself in the 
name of the Lord ; His will be done. Who has entreated Him 
to make me a doctor ? But if He has made me such, He may 
direct all, or may again destroy me, if He repents of it. These 
trials do not terrify me in the least, they much rather, with 
might, expand the bounds of my heart. Only for this I am 
concerned, that the Lord would be gracious to me in those 
things which concern me and Him ; the cause of men, we will, 
in believing prayer, commend to Him and be secure. For 
what can they do ? Kill ? Can they then, perhaps, raise up 
from the dead, in order to kill once more ? Will they raise the 
cry of heresy ? Christ truly was condemned along with male- 
factors, and when I contemplate His sufferings, it vexes me 
exceedingly to see so many distinguished men consider these 
trials of mine, not only as something, but as something great, 
whilst in reality, they are nothing. The truth is, we have be- 
come too much estranged from suffering and evil, that is to 
say, from a true Christian life." 

The day after he had written this, (the 15th January, 1520,) he 
addressed, to the new Emperor, Charles V., an humble writing, 
in which he says: "That the earthly princes must, as images 
of the heavenly Prince, imitate the latter likewise in this, that 
they, although occupying elevated stations, yet have regard to 
the lowly and raise up the poor and insignificant from the dust. 
And I accordingly, too, come as one that is poor and insignifi- 
cant, and prostrate myself at the feet of your imperial majesty 
as a very unworthy person, yet notwithstanding, on behalf of 

9 



130 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



a very important cause." He then presents his case, how it 
was now the third year already that he had been obliged, 
without intermission, to bear hatred and reproach, and incur 
danger, because of his writings, which had been extorted from 
him ; how he had, in vain, asked for forgiveness, offered to 
keep silence, proposed conditions of peace, and prayed for in- 
struction. That the only aim was to involve him and the 
whole Gospel in ruin. " But," continues he then, "after having 
in vain made every effort, it at last seemed to me not impro- 
per, in imitation of the example of St. Athanasius, to address 
myself to your imperial majesty, if God would, perhaps, grant 
me grace through the same. Therefore, casting myself at the 
feet of your imperial majesty, I humbly pray the same, gra- 
ciously to receive into your protection, not me, but the cause 
of truth, for the sake of which alone the sword has been given 
into the hands of your imperial majesty, to be a terror to evil- 
doers and a praise to them that do well ; in all which I pray to 
be protected no further and no longer, than till I have rendered 
an account, and either have overcome or have been overcome. 
I desire no protection if 1 am found to be an ungodly man or a 
heretic. Only one thing 1 ask, that neither truth nor falsehood 
be condemned unheard and unvanquished." 

Soon after this, 6 he likewise very respectfully wrote to the 
archbishop of Mayence, and to the bishop of Merseburg, and 
begged them not to give ear to those who secretly brought ac- 
cusations against him. " I must, of necessity," says he, "teach 
what I have learned and what 1 read in the Holy Scriptures, 
and I am accused for teaching, what those men either will not 
or cannot refute. If only my most gracious Lord were at 
leisure to read what 1 have written, I have no doubt your 
reverence would, with the help of God, see how far 1^ am 
removed from that of which I am accused. Neither have I 
yet heard that my writings have been condemned by any but 
those that have not read them, unless it be some few, whom 
envy leads either not to read at all, or if they read anything, 
immediately to distort it, and to ascribe to me things of which 
I never even have thought. Jesus Christ, the judge of us all, 
is witness for my soul, that I am not conscious of having 
taught anything but what is in accordance with the doctrines 
of Christ and of God's Word, that I am not either so obstinate 
as not to permit myseif to be better instructed, or as to refuse 
retracting obvious error." 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



131 



Both the bishops did, indeed, return a friendly answer to 
this, saying, that they rejoiced to see him offer to receive 
instruction ; they, nevertheless, especially the Bishop of Merse- 
burg, expressed their displeasure at the severity of his writings, 
the latter concluding his letter thus : " And herewith adieu, 
and mayest thou walk piously in Christ, who is the author of 
peace, and do thou, by all means, from love to him, moderate 
and mitigate thy style." Luther was not displeased at this 
answer ; he said, however, that he truly took no pleasure in 
being tossed about by storms, and would like to live in peace 
just as much as the bishop. That one in health could, no 
doubt, easily give good advice to the sick. 

There were, likewise, immediately again new troubles and 
trials to be encountered. The Bishop of Meissen had, under 
date of the 24th January, caused a proclamation to be issued 
against Luther's sermon on the highly-revered sacrament, in 
which it was asserted, that the latter had given cause for 
much doubt in regard to the sacrament and its reception, and 
might excite great scandal, error and division in the Church of 
God. All were, therefore, everywhere diligently to gather 
up this sermon and retain it till further directions were given, 
but the preachers were to instruct the people, to continue 
firmly and inviolably in the belief, that the whole Christ and 
Saviour is likewise under each form, and that also to them 
who receive the highly-revered sacrament only under one 
form, the sacrament is dispensed in its entireness and com- 
pleteness, and not only as to a portion or part. 

As this document had been issued under the title and name 
of the Bishop of Meissen indeed, with the seal only of the 
ecclesiastical court, however, Luther said: "He considered it 
certain, that the right reverend father in God and lord at 
Meissen was much too learned and pious, knowingly and de- 
signedly to cause the publication of so unfounded and mali- 
cious a document, sealed with many manifest falsehoods and 
blasphemies, and on this account he entitled his reply : Answer 
to the billet issued under the seal of the official at Stolpen, 1 called 
the author a billet-champion and an envious soul, who, not 
being able to prove his doctrines to be heretical, denounced 
them as scandalous, rebellious, wicked and presumptuous, and 
said, such documents would, at Rome and by all men of sense, 
be considered more awkward than respectable. 

This severe writing drew upon Luther much enmity. The 



132 THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 

Bishop of Brandenburg was already, since the Leipzig disputa- 
tion, excited, as he had been by Eck and the Franciscans, 
(see above, p. 124,) very indignant at Luther. He is reported 
to have said : " That he would not lay down his head to rest 
till he had cast Martin into the fire, just as this brand," which 
he, whilst thus speaking, threw into the fire. Now, also, many 
eourtiers of rank at the electoral court, who stood related to 
the Bishop of Meissen, (John von Schleinitz,) began to be wroth 
at Luther, and were very much offended, that even the bishop, 
as they said, was calumniated. Spalatin, on this account, 
wrote to Luther in great excitement, so that the latter was 
under the necessity of defending himself at large against his 
friend : " I have written to yon before," says he, " by no means 
to imagine that this business has been begun or conducted, in 
accordance with your, my, or any other man's fancy : if it is of 
God, it will come to an end far against, beyond, above and be- 
low your and my conception. And that you may be reminded 
of it once more, I would not wish to see even a single hair in 
this matter regulated according to your or my determination, 
and never have I, in this respect, feared anything more, than 
that I might, perhaps, some time or other, being left to my- 
self, write in such a way as suits the taste of men, and for you 
there is cause to fear lest you become too wise„ as for me lest I 
become too f -olish. I know men are displeased at too great 
foolishness, but God is much more displeased at too great wis- 
dom, for that which is foolish he has chosen that he may bring 
to nought that which is wise. I pray you most earnestly, if 
you have correct views of the Gospel, not to think that this 
business can proceed without noise, offence and tumult. You 
cannot convert a sword into a downy feather, or war into 
peace : the Word of God is sword, war, downfall, offence, de- 
struction, poison, and, as Amos says, like a bear, upon the road 
and a lion in the forest, so it meets the children of Ephraim. 
My adversaries may come forth, if they see proper, and if. they 
should have forgotten the honour due to the person of the 
bishop or else of the official, doubt not but that I shall, by 
reference to the Scriptures, quite handsomely remind them of 
it. Of a jealousy, prompted by such inconsiderateness and 
ignorance, I can entertain no fear. God urges me on with 
might : He may see to it, what he'll accomplish through me, 
since I am conscious of not having of myself sought or prayed 
for any of this, but that everything has been exacted from me 



THE TIME OP THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



133 



by the rage of others. Be of good courage, and do not look at 
the things that appear. Faith is the evidence of things not 
seen; why do you judge according to that which is seen? That 
which is transpiring in this business, O, my Spalatin, is one 
thing, another thing is that which is seen. I seek nothing, but 
there is one who seeks something. Let it stand or fall, I gain 
and lose nothing. There you have my opinion. Yet I cannot 
deny that I am more severe than is becoming, but as they very 
well know this, they should have given no provocation. How 
difficult it is for a person to moderate his ardour and style, you 
can learn from your own experience. This, too, is the reason 
why it has always been so repugnant to me to appear before 
the publie ; but the more repugnant it is to me, the more I be- 
come involved in the matter against my will, and that only in 
consequence of the most shocking accusations, with which they 
rave against me and God's Word; and thus then it happens, 
that even if my ardour and my style did not carry me away, 
still, even a heart of stone w r ould be aroused to resistance by 
so revolting a course, how much more I, who am ardent and 
have no very dull pen." 

He very soon, again, had occasion for employing this his 
pen. The theological faculty at Cologne had, on the 29th Au- 
gust, and that at Lou vain, on the 7th November, 1519, prohi- 
bited Luther's books 8 as heretical and condemned them to the 
flames ; and Cardinal Hadrian, of Dertusa, had, in a communi- 
cation of the 4th December, very highly commended them 
for it When Luther, in March, 1520, received the ? dogmati- 
cal condemnation " of these theologians, he immediately wrote 

severe reply, in which he shows them, by many examples, 
how their decisions, for many years past, had been not only 
hasty, inconsiderate and precipitate, but likewise erroneous, 
heretical, blind and audacious, and then says: " That he was 
exceedingly surprised at the theologians of Louvain and 
Cologne, that they were always in advance of all theological 
faculties, on the score of impudence, and that they did not feel 
ashamed because of such examples." He then reviews the 
condemned Theses, and finally says : " That God's displeasure 
was to be traced in this, that he places such children and 
effeminate men over us, according to Isaiah, chapter 3, be- 
cause our sins and our great ingratitude, which are intolerable 
to God himself, have deserved this." 

In May, 1520, there further appeared a publication in Latin, 



1 34 THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 

by the Franciscan, Augustine von Alveld, in which he defended 
the primacy of the Pope against Luther. Luther considered 
it too silly to waste only one hour in refuting it, and therefore 
committed this labour to his amanuensis, John Lonicerus ; but, 
when this writing, to Luther's greatest surprise, found favour 
with several respectable men, and Alveld likewise published 
it in German, Luther, notwithstanding, wrote against him, and 
that in such a way as not to forget the Pope, and as not to in- 
tend doing either of them a favour by it, " for," as he wrote to 
Spalatin, " thus the importance of the. case demands it, the 
secrets of Antichrist must, at last, be brought to light." He 
therefore entitled his writing : Concerning the papacy at Rome 
in opposition to the highly -renowned Romanist at Leipzig. In 
the preface he says: "I pray every Christian so to regard my 
words, as, although they should, perhaps, be ironical or pointed, 
to have proceeded from a heart which has been obliged, with 
great pain, to unburthen itself, and to convert seriousness into 
irony ; for, since my Lord Christ and his holy Word, so dearly pur- 
chased with his blood, are considered subjects for ridicule and 
buffoonery, I must lay aside seriousness and see if I have not 
likewise learned to ridicule and to mock". Thou, my Lord 
Jesus Christ, knowest how my heart is disposed towards such, 
Thy arch-blasphemers ; upon this I depend, and I leave all to 
proceed in Thy name. Amen. They shall yet permit Thee to 
remain a Lord. Amen." He then advances the point to be 
discussed : " Whether the papacy at Rome, as it is in the un- 
disturbed possession of power over all Christendom, is (as they 
say) derived from divine or human authority,"* and says : 
" That it is not at all the serious opinion of the Pope and his 
flatterers, that his primacy is of divine authority, since every- 
thing divinely established is not valued one iota at Rome, but 
is much rather derided as folly." The argument of his oppo- 
nent : "That every congregation on earth, if it is not to decline, 
must have a temporal head, under the head, Christ ; the whole 
of Christendom, accordingly, being one congregation on earth, 
it likewise must have a head, and that is the Pope," he firstly 
derides, since, if the argument for the divine institution be 
taken "from the custom in temporal things," everything that is 
true of a temporal congregation, can yet not be applied to 
Christendom. He then refutes it by showing how the Scrip- 
tures speak of the Christian Church, and what other mode of 
speaking of it had come to be used: wherefore he, "for the 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



135 



sake of plainness and brevity," distinguishes two churches : 
the one, the natural, substantial, real and true, he calls the 
spiritual, inward, Christian Church ; the other, which is artifi- 
cial and outward, a temporal and outward Church, " not that we 
wish to separate them from each other, but just as we, speak- 
ing of a man, say of him, with regard to his soul, that he is a 
spiritual, with regard to his body, a corporeal being." He then 
asserts, that the first Christian Church, which alone is the true 
Church, cannot have a head upon earth, and cannot be govern- 
ed by any person on earth, whether Bishop or Pope ; that 
Christ, moreover, cannot have a vicegerent in this Church. 
That St. Peter was one of the twelve apostles and not the lord 
of the eleven, and that the Pope was no higher than St. Peter. 
That according to divine appointment all bishops are equal, 
and occupy the places of the apostles ; according to human 
regulations, however, one might be above the other in the out- 
ward Church. That the Pope ruled Christendom with outward 
pomp, but that this did not make men Christians, and that 
those were not heretics either, " who were not under those 
same laws and pageantries, or human regulations, for with the 
countries the customs differ." All this is confirmed by the arti- 
cle : I believe in the Holy Ghost, one holy Christian Church, a 
communion of saints. No one speaks thus : 1 believe in the 
Holy Ghost, one holy Roman Church, a communion of the 
Romans, in order to make it evident that the holy Church is 
not bound to Rome, but extends over the whole world, being 
united in one faith, spiritually, not bodily. For that which we 
believe, is not bodily or visible. The outward Roman Church 
we all see ; therefore it cannot be the true Church which is 
believed, and which is a communion or assembly of saints in 
the faith : but no one can see who is holy or who believes. 
The signs by which we can outwardly perceive where this 
Church is in the world, are baptism, the sacrament, and the 
Gospel, and not Rome, this or that place. For where baptism 
and the Gospel are, there no one is to doubt but that th^re are 
saints, though they should only be children in the cradle. But 
Rome or papal power is not a sign by which the Church is 
known ; for such power makes no one a Christian, as baptism 
and the Gospel do ; therefore it does not belong either to the 
true Christian Church, but is a human invention. 

A further argument of Al veld's was : " The Old Testament 
was a type of the New. As therefore the former had a visible 



136 



THE TIME OF THE FIE3T TESTIMONY. 



highpriest, so likewise must the New have such ; how would 
the type otherwise be fulfilled? " This Luther answers thus : 
"type and fulfilment are to each other as bodily to spiritual, out- 
ward to inward things, so that everything which in the type 
we see with bodily eyes, is to be seen fulfilled only by faith, 
or it is not a fulfilment. All that the Old Testament has of 
bodily, visible things, typifies spiritual, inward things in the: 
New Testament, which cannot be seen, but are possessed in 
faith." Further, though we should give the type a spiritual 
fulfilment, yet it would not stand the test, unless there could 
be adduced some manifest passage from the Scriptures, con- 
necting the type and the spiritual fulfilment, otherwise every one 
might make of it just what he chose. That Aaron was a type 
of Christ and not of the Pope, according to Ps. 110. 4, (com- 
pare Heb. 5. 2, and Matt. 22. 44,) and Hebr. 9." 

He then examines the passages usually adduced for the pri- 
macy of the Pope, and finally says, in reference to the calum- 
niation of his person : " Only denounce, calumniate, and judge 
my person and my life, whoever will, it is already forgiven 
him. But let no one expect of me, either favour or patience, 
who attempts to make my Lord Christ, preached by me, and 
the Holy Ghost, false. For myself I care not, but the Word of 
Christ I shall defend with a joyful heart and with fresh courage, 
without any respect of men, for which purpose God has given 
me a joyful intrepid spirit, which they shall not quench, I trust 
forever. 

In this time of affliction, when the Romanists were every- 
where decrying Lulher as a heretic, when, from all directions, 
writings poured forth against the one man, when, even at the 
electoral court they were exceedingly enraged against him, and 
things were now in such a position as to compel him to leave 
Wittenberg and to go into exile, (he having already, too, intended 
to conceal himself in Bohemia,) at this time, 9 God too again sent 
Luther comfort and courage through other pious Christians. 
The Prince of Anhalt, (in December, 1519,) invited him to 
Dessau ; but Luther considered it questionable whether he 
could be safe there, and thought, moreover, the prince himself 
would involve himself in danger through him. In Nurembcrg t 
there appeared for Luther a German apology, written by the 
counsellor, Lazarus Spe?iglcr, under the title: "Defence and 
Christian Answer by a friend of divine truth as contained in 
the Holy Scriptures, in reply to the opposition of some, together 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



137 



with the evidence, why Dr. Martin Luther's doctrines are not 
to be wholly rejected as unchristian, but are much rather to be 
considered Christian." John CEcolampadins, likewise, published 
a writing against Eck, (comp. note 3,) which grieved the latter 
more than anything that appeared against him. John Feld- 
kirch, a disciple of Melanchthon's, defended Luther against 
Alveld, and Melanchthon himself, who, in a letter to a friend, 
thus expressed himself concerning Luther : " Martin is much 
greater and more deserving of admiration than I can express 
in words. You know how Alcibiades admired his Socrates ; 
so I admire him, only quite differently, in a Christian manner; 
and as often as I contemplate him, he always seems to me to 
surpass himself." Melanchthon himself, somewhat later, 10 took 
up his pen for Luther, and in opposition to the address of 
Thomas Rhodinus, "to the princes and people of Germany, 
against Martin Luther, the defamer of the German name," 
wrote for him, under the name of "Didymus Faventinus," an 
apology, in which, among other things, he says : " Judge your- 
selves, whether those really seek the welfare and good name 
of your native country, who bring accusations against the man 
that has delivered the country from Roman impositions, who, 
singly and alone, has ventured to root up errors that had 
maintained their ground for several centuries, who has again 
brought to light the doctrines of Christianity, which were al- 
most entirely hidden amidst the ungodly statutes of the Popes, 
and the silly sophisms of the schools. For this praise not only 
myself, but the learned award to him." Erasmus too, at that 
time yet, spoke in favour of Luther. In the letter in which he 
dedicated to the Elector of Saxony, his book de Vitis Ccesarum, 
he says, concerning him: "Luther is too little known to me, 
that I should be suspected of favouring him as my friend. I 
have no disposition either to defend or to criticise his writings, 
have thus far, too, read them only hastily. At the worst, no 
one that knows him, finds fault with his life, for he is far 
removed from anything like avarice or ambition, and. an irre- 
proachable life is highly esteemed, even by the heathens. But 
before the common people, which have no judgment in such 
matters, so madly to cry down an honest man, especially when 
his books have not even once been read, this certainly is not 
compatible with theological meekness, the less so, since he 
wrote only by way of inquiry, and subjected himself to the de- 
cision of all to whom it belongs to decide. No one has warned 



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him, no one instructed him, no one refuted him; they do 
nothing but denounce him as a heretic, and with wild clamour 
demand that he be stoned." In like manner he wrote to the 
Archbishop of Mayence, and showed how the silly pratings 
and intrigues of those who now declaimed against Luther, 
were the cause of all his writing against indulgences, the 
papal power, confession, and the doctrines of the scholastics. 
" To you," said he, " it is, in my estimation, to be attributed, if 
Luther even has, at times, written somewhat without modera- 
tion." 

What the Elector thought of Luther's cause, we learn from 
a letter of his to the Saxon nobleman, Dr. Valentine Teutleben, 
who had written to him from Rome : "That if his business and 
affairs should meet with obstacles, lag, and be neglected, it 
was to be attributed to the indiscretion and presumption of 
Dr. Martin Luther." To this the Elector replied : " That he 
had never yet attempted to use his influence in propagating or 
defending the doctrines and writings of Dr. Martin Luther; 
that nevertheless he heard, how this man's doctrines were, by 
many learned and intelligent men, looked upon and approved 
as godly and Christian. That he, however, would lay no stress 
upon this, and Luther might, as the responsible person, freely, 
at his own hazard, defend his doctrines, the more so, as this 
whole matter had been left to a just investigation, to which he 
had subjected himself. That although, there now, since Luther 
had thus submitted his affair, existed no cause why anything 
further of severity should be imposed upon him ; he, notwith- 
standing, had caused the matter to be conferred upon w r ith 
Luther, and had obtained of the latter, to offer himself of his 
own accord to depart from the electoral dominions and ihe 
university, and that he would already have betaken himself 
away, if the papal Legate, Charles von Miltitz, had not inter- 
fered, he having been apprehensive Luther might betake him- 
self to places where he could write much more freely and more 
securely. That he had written these same things to Cardinal 
George ; from him, (Teutleben,) however, as his subject, with 
him he could speak more freely, he would, because of their 
common country, not conceal, that many worthy men positive- 
ly declared Luther not to have designedly and maliciously en- 
gaged in these contests and disputes concerning the papacy 
but that he had been reluctantly and with constraint drawn 
into them by Dr. Eck. That there were then in Germany 



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139 



many worthy, able, learned, and intelligent men, skilled in all 
manner of languages and arts; that the laymen even were be- 
ginning to take pleasure and delight in the Holy Scriptures. 
That, in consequence, many were apprehensive, if Luther 
were, without an equitable decision, vanquished only by means 
of the censures of the Church and excommunication, this quar- 
rel and dispute might become much more violent, so that it 
might not be possible, perhaps, afterwards, to arrest the matter. 
For Luther's doctrines," says he in conclusion, " have already 
struck too deep root in the hearts of many in Germany, for it 
to pass off so lightly, (as is supposed,) if, instead of refuting 
them with just and sound arguments and reasons, and mani- 
fest and clear testimony from the Scriptures, the terrors of 
ecclesiastical power alone be resorted to and put in requisition 
against him, to crush him ; it would rather occasion great and 
excessive scandal in Germany, and excite fearful, dreadful, in- 
jurious and ruinous insurrections, which might not prove of 
any advantage or benefit, either to the most holy Father, the 
Pope, or to any one else." 11 

The Elector had caused the letters from Rome (from Teutle- 
ben and the Cardinal St. George,) to be communicated to 
Luther, and the latter accordingly, on the 9th July, wrote to 
Spalatin : " That he had read them in silence and with great 
grief at the stupidity and wickedness of men so high in office 
in the Church, that he was not able to advise the good prince 
what to say in reply, and therefore wrote to him, his friend. 
One thing he would say, if they would not free him from his 
obligation to teach, from his office in the Word, he would be 
free in discharging the duties of this his office. I am," says he, 
" burdened with sins enough, I shall not yet add this unpardon- 
able one, that being placed in office, I forsake my office and 
make myself guilty of a shameful silence, to the injury of the 
truth and of so many thousand souls. This I do above all 
things desire, that our most serene prince may avoid all inter- 
ference in my affair, as he has thus far done, and that he pub- 
licly deliver me up to be better informed, or confuted, but that 
he do not either, if he cannot instruct me, judge me or execute 
sentence against me, till a decision has been pronounced and 
been made known. What I have done and yet do, I do from 
necessity. I am always ready to keep silence, if they only do 
not bid Gospel truth be silent. They shall obtain everything 



i40 THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY; 

from me and obtain it freely, if they only leave open to Chris- 
tians the way of salvation. This is all I ask of them in return, 
and nothing else, and what better request could I make ? I 
desire no cardinal's hat, no gold, nothing of all that, which, at 
the present day, is esteemed at Rome. But if my request is 
refused, then may they take from me my office and suffer me 
to live and to die in seclusion." 

The day after Luther had thus written to Spalatin, he 
received a letter from the Franconian knight Sylvester von 
Shauenburg, which greatly encouraged him. Even before this, 
(on the 20th January and 28th February, 1520,) Ulrich von 
Hutten had written to Melanchthon, to tell Luther in confi- 
dence : " That Francis von Sickingen tendered his aid to him, 
with the request, that if, in his cause anything adverse should 
befall him, and he could not elsewhere obtain better help, he 
might come to him to Naustall." L T nder date of the 24th June, 
Hutten wrote to Luther himself : " It is currently reported that 
you are excommunicated and placed under the ban. O ! how 
happy you are, Luther, what a happy man you are, I say. For 
all pious and God-fearing people will sing of you and say : 
< They arise against the soul of the just and condemn innocent 
blood, but the Lord will requite them their injustice, and de- 
stroy them on account of their wickedness.' The Lord our 
God will do this, that we confidently hope. Do you, neverthe- 
less, be on your guard, do not trust them, but carefully observe 
all their movements. For bethink you, what misfortune, dis- 
tress and injury would it not bring upon all Christendom, if 
you should now fall away. Yet as far as you are concerned, 
I am certain, that you are resolved much rather to die, than to 
pass over to them, and be united with them." Schauenburg, in 
his letter, (dated on the 11th June,) wrote: "I pray and exhort 
you, in God the Lord, that, although the Elector, princes, or 
other superiors should forsake you, and unjustly permit arbi- 
trary, ecclesiastical power to be put in force against you, you 
would not let such swerving and falling off disturb j r ou, much 
less betake yourself to the Bohemians, with whom several 
highly-learned men have aforetime sustained marked insults 
and injury, thus only making things worse. For I, and I think 
I may say, a hundred others of the nobility, whom, (if God per- 
mit,) I will assemble, will faithfully support you and protect 
you against all danger from your adversaries, till -your doc- 



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141 



trines have^ in a general Christian council, regularly sum- 
moned, or by unbiassed and intelligent judges, been vindicated 
and established, or you have been better informed." 

Luther rejoiced greatly at it, that the rage of Rome began, 
at last, to be despised by the Germans too, and that under the 
protection thus promised him, he would no longer be under the 
necessity of having reference to the Elector. " The adversa- 
ries shall know," he wrote, "that what I have as yet not done 
against them, is owing neither to my forbearance, nor to their 
tyranny or merits, but to the person and authority of the prince, 
and to the common cause of the Wittenberg university. As for 
myself, the die is cast. Rome's favour and rage are despised. I 
will never be reconciled to them or make common cause with 
them — they may condemn my books and commit them to the 
flames. I, in return, unless it should be that I can have no fire, 
will condemn and publicly burn the whole pontifical law, this 
many-headed serpent of heresies ; and of the humiliation thus 
far offered and shown in vain, there shall be an end ; the 
enemies of the Gospel shall no longer be puffed up thereby." 

When Luther wrote this, he was already engaged with the 
writing : To the Christian nobility of the German nation, con- 
cerning the reformation of the Christian Church. The idea of 
this he conceived as he was once travelling with Laurentius 
Suss, (see above, p. 16, note 2.) As they were driving along, 
he all at once knelt down before the seat in the carriage, and 
for a considerable time prayed with great earnestness, and 
said : " Now I have charged my rifle." Laurence asked him : 
" Domine Pater, what do you mean by that ? " Luther an- 
swered: "I have charged a rifle, which, if I succeed in dis- 
charging it well, will certainly force its way through ; " and on 
Laurence's further inquiring how he was to understand this, 
the Doctor said : " I intend to write a little book to the German 
nobility, if I succeed by it in gaining them over to God's Word, 
you shall see what will be the result." 

The dedication of this writing to Nicolaus von Amsdorf, 
Licentiate and Prebendary at Wittenberg, reads thus : " The 
time to keep silence is passed, and the time to speak has 
arrived, as Ecclesiastes (the preacher,) saith. As we had 
designed, so we have done, and collected a number of things 
in reference to a reformation of the Christian Church, with the 
view to place them before the nobility of the German nation ; 
if, perhaps, God would help his Church through the laity, since 



142 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



the clergy, to whom it more justly belongs, have become 
wholly inattentive. I send it all to your honour that you may 
pass judgment upon it, and, where necessary, correct it. I am 
well aware that I shall be duly reproved, as being too pre- 
sumptuous, for a despised and rejected man to venture on ad- 
dressing men in stations so exalted, and on matters of such 
great importance, just as if there were not in the world any 
one else besides Dr. Luther, who might espouse the cause of 
the Christian Church, and give advice to such highly intelli- 
gent men. 

" I shall not attempt to excuse myself, reprove me for it who 
may. Perhaps I yet owe to my God and to the world one 
foolish act, this debt I have now resolved, if possible, honestly 
to discharge, and once, likewise, to become court-fool. If I fail, 
I have still one advantage, no one need buy me a cap, or pre- 
sent me the comb. But the thing is, who will tie the bell to 
the other. I must fulfil the proverb : ' No matter what the 
world has to do there must be a monk connected with it, even 
if you have to paint one for the purpose.' It has, no doubt, 
happened so before, that a fool has spoken wisely, and often 
sadly made fools of wise people, as Paul says: 4 Let him that 
would be wise become a fool.' 

" As I. moreover, am not only a fool, but likewise a sworn 
doctor of the Holy Scriptures, I am glad, that the opportunity 
presents itself to me, to satisfy my oath in this very same fool- 
ish way. I beg your honour to apologize for me with the mode- 
rately intelligent ; for I do not know how to earn the favour 
and good-will of the excessively intelligent, and after having 
often sought them with great labour, I shall henceforth no 
longer desire or regard them. God grant us grace, that we 
may seek not our but alone His honour. Amen. At Witten- 
berg, in the cloister of the Augustines, on the eve of St. John 
the Baptist, in the year 1520." 

In the introduction to the work, Luther addresses himself to 
his most serene, most mighty, imperial majesty, and to the 
Christian nobility of the German nation, and says in the first 
place : " It is not owing to mere impertinence or irreverence, 
that I, a single, insignificant man, have ventured to speak be- 
fore your high dignities. The distress and affliction which 
press heavily upon all stations in Christendom, especially upon 
Germany, have induced not only me, but every one else, fre- 
quently to cry out and to desire help, have also now compelled 



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143 



me to cry and call aloud, if God perhaps would put it into the 
heart of some one, to reach forth his hand to the wretched 
nation." He at the same time, however, said : " That the first 
thing to be done in this matter, was, in all seriousness, to be- 
ware of undertaking anything with a reliance upon great 
power, or upon reason, even if the power of the whole world 
were ours ; for God cannot and will not endure it, that a good 
work be begun with a reliance upon our own strength, or upon 
reason, he casts it down to the ground and nothing can avail, 
as it is written in the 33d Psalm : 4 A king will not maintain 
himself by means of his great power, nor an army by the great- 
ness of its might.' And I apprehend this to have been the 
reason, that in by-gone days, those worthy princes, the Empe- 
rors Frederick I. and II., and many more German emperors, 
were so wofully trampled upon and oppressed by the Popes, 
whilst yet the whole world feared them. They probably re- 
lied upon their own power, more than upon God, therefore 
they had to fall." 

Hereupon he says : " The Romanists have very dexterously 
encompassed themselves within three walls, behind which they 
have thus far taken refuge, so that no one has been able to 
reform them, in consequence of which all Christendom has 
wofully declined. They, in the first place, when temporal power 
was put into requisition against them, made it a rule and said: 
That temporal power had no authority over them ; but that, 
on the other hand, the spiritual power was above the temporal. 
In the second place, if any one has attempted to rebuke them 
with the Holy Scriptures, they have in opposition made the 
rule, that no one was authorized to interpret the Scriptures 
except the Pope. In the third place, if you threaten them 
with a council, they feign that no one has the right to summon 
a council but the Pope. Thus they have clandestinely stolen 
from us three rods that they might go unpunished, and within 
these three walls they have securely established themselves, to 
practice all manner of villany and wickedness, as we now all 
behold." 

The first wall Luther overthrows by declaring the distinction 
between spiritual and temporal stations to be an invention and 
deception, saying : " All Christians are in truth of a spiritual 
station, and there is no difference between them, excepting 
only in as far as office is concerned, for Paul (1 Cor. 12,) says: 
That we are all one body, yet every member has its peculiar 



144 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



office, in which it serves the rest. All depends upon this, that 
we have one baptism, one Gospel, one faith, and are alike 
Christians. For baptism, Gospel and faith, alone make spiritual 
and Christian people. Christ has not two, or two kinds of 
bodies, one temporal, the other spiritual. One head he is, and 
one body has he. Therefore just as those whom we now call 
spiritual, that is, priests, bishops and popes, are distinguished 
from other Christians by no further or greater dignity, than by 
ministering the Word and the sacraments, which is their duty 
and office ; so likewise has the temporal power in its hand, 
the sword and the rod, for punishing the wicked and protect- 
ing the good. Now behold how Christian it is to declare and 
to say, that the temporal power has no authority over the 
clergy, is not to punish them either. That is just as much as 
to say, the hand shall afford no help, although the eye suffers 
great need. Is it not unnatural, notto say unchristian, for one 
member to refuse helping the other, and warding off his de- 
struction ? Yea, the more honourable a member is, the more 
the others are to afford him aid. Therefore the temporal, 
Christian power is to exercise its office freely without hinder- 
ance, regardless whether it be Pope, bishop or priest, whom it 
strikes. It is nothing but Roman invention and presumption 
to say ; That he who is guilty suffers what the spiritual law 
has affixed to his guilt. For thus says St. Paul to all Chris- 
tians : Let every soul (the popes too, I conceive,) be subject 
unto the higher powers, for they do not bear the sword in vain. 
They serve God with it, and are to be a terror to evil-doers and 
a praise to them that do well. So St. Peter : * Submit your- 
selves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake ; for so 
is the will of the Lord.' He has foretold too, that there 
would be such men, who would despise the temporal power, 
2 Peter 2, as has been the case in consequence of the spiritual 
law. Thus, then, 1 think this first paper wall is demolished, 
inasmuch as the temporal power has become a part of the 
Christian body; and although its office is temporal, yet is it of 
a spiritual station, therefore it is to exercise its office freely and 
without hindrance in all parts of the body, punishing and 
urging on, as guilt deserves or need requires, irrespective of 
Pope, bishops or priests, let them threaten and excommunicate 
as much as they please. It cannot be a good spirit either which 
has invented such subterfuges and made it possible for sin to 
go unpunished. 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



145 



" The second wall," continues Luther, " is of a yet more tot- 
tering and crumbling nature, namely, that they claim for 
themselves the exclusive right of interpreting the Scriptures, 
although they do not, in all their life, ever learn anything in it ; 
they presumptuously claim all authority, and prate to us most 
impudently, that the Pope cannot err in matters of faith, be he 
good or bad, and with all this they cannot produce, for their 
assertions, one iota of proof. Hence it happens, that there are 
contained in the canon law so many heretical and unchristian, 
yea, unnatural statutes, of which it is not necessary now to 
speak. For, since they imagine that the Holy Ghost does not 
forsake them, be they as unlearned and as wicked as they 
may, they become bold to enact whatever they choose. And 
if this were so, what need or use would there be of the Holy 
Scriptures ? Let us commit them to the flames, and content 
ourselves with the unlearned gentlemen at Rome, in whom 
there dwells the Holy Ghost, whilst, notwithstanding, He 
dwells only in the hearts of the pious. If I had not read it, it 
would have been incredible to me, that the devil should be 
pretending such preposterous things at Rome, and yet gain ad- 
herents." He then reviews the passages of Holy Writ pro and 
con, and says : " That there certainly were pious Christians 
among us, having the true faith, spirit, understanding, word 
and meaning of Christ, if we now should reject their word and 
understanding and follow the Pope alone, the whole faith and 
the Christian Church would be denied, and we could not say : 
'I believe in one holy Christian Church,' but would have to 
say: 'I believe in the Pope at Rome,' and thus we would 
wholly concentrate the Church in one man, which would be 
nothing more or less than devilish, infernal error." 

" The third wall," says Luther, in conclusion, " falls of itself 
if the other two are demolished. For, if the Pope acts in op- 
position to the Scriptures, we are in duty bound to stand by 
the Scriptures, with punishment and coercion, as Christ says : 
* If thy brother sin against thee,' &c. Here every member is 
commanded to have care for the other ; how much more are 
we to lend a helping hand where a common ruling member 
does wrong, and by his actions causes much injury and offence 
to the rest. If in such a case I have to accuse him before the 
congregation, then, certainly, I must assemble it. Nor can 
they maintain it with Scriptural authority, that the Pope alone 
has the right to convoke and to sanction a council ; they have 

10 



146 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



nothing but their own statutes for it, which are admissible 
only in so far as they prove of no injury to Christendom and to 
God's statutes. In case, therefore, the Pope deserves to be 
punished, their own statutes already fall to the ground, for it 
would prove injurious to Christendom not to have him punish- 
ed by a council." 

He then proceeds to consider the subjects which should 
justly engage the attention of a council. He says, that it was 
shocking and horrible to behold, how the highest personage in 
Christendom, who boasts himself to be the vicar of Christ and 
successor of St. Peter, lived in so worldly and splendid a man- 
ner, that no king or emperor was equal to him in this, and how 
he, who claims to be the most holy and the most spiritual, was 
more worldly than the world itself. That the crowd of cardi- 
nals were of no other use in Christendom, than to acquire pos- 
session of all the cloisters, bishoprics, fiefs and benefices, and 
that when Italy would be exhausted, Germany would have its 
turn. That Antichrist would have to amass the treasures of 
the world, as was foretold. That nevertheless, it would be 
more tolerable, if they stole from us only temporal property ; 
but that they were, in this way, laying waste the churches, 
and robbing the sheep of Christ of their pious shepherds, and 
suppressing the service and Word of God. That the court of 
the Pope would be large enough still for returning answers in 
matters of faith, if the one-hundredth part were suffered to 
remain, and ninety-nine parts were abolished. That the Ger- 
mans were not such veritable fools, as not at all to perceive or 
to understand the artifices of the Romans. That he did not 
here complain of God's command and Christian equity being 
despised at Rome, since things were not now in so prosperous 
a condition in Christendom, especially at Rome, as to induce 
one to complain of such important things. Neither did he 
complain that natural or human law and reason were disre- 
garded, but only that they did not obey their own invented 
spiritual law. He then proceeds to show how the annual con- 
tributions formerly granted by the German emperors and 
princes for prosecuting the war against the Turks, were mis- 
applied ; how the Pope was managing to gain possession of 
fief after fief; how he sold the pall to the bishops for a large 
sum of money, and with shocking oaths bound them to himself 
as his servants, so that no bishop or chapter might have any 
power, but everything be regulated at Rome ; how, even in 



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147 



that year, the bishop of Strasburg had been prevented from 
properly controlling his diocese and from making reformations 
in the service of God ; further, how matters stood with re ard 
to the coadjutors, administrators, commendans, the union and 
incorporation of prebends, which, according to the canon law, 
could not be held and retained together, whilst a single Roman 
courtier, in this way, possessed twenty-two benefices, seven 
provostships, and forty-four prebends, at the same time ; how 
the Pope was accustomed to make prebends hereditary, how 
avarice had, in addition, also invented the pectoralis reser- 
vatio, or inward reservation, according to which, the Pope can 
again take from any one the fief, which had been legally 
secured to him ; and how, finally, there was at Rome an espe- 
cial house, that of Datarius, where everything could be pur- 
chased for money, and all dishonour and disgrace be promoted 
to honours. He concludes : " Let no one imagine that I have 
exaggerated ; these things are all public, so that even at Rome 
they must acknowledge, that they are more shocking and more 
numerous than any one can express in words. I have not yet, 
and will not yet, touch upon the real essential dregs of per- 
sonal vices ; I speak only of common current matters, and yet 
cannot express them in words." 

He then passes on to state, what might, perhaps, on the part 
of the temporal power or by a general council, be done for the 
amelioration of this shocking condition of things. Every prince, 
the nobility and the cities should, in the first place, at once for- 
bid their subjects to transmit to Rome the annual contribu- 
tions, and should wholly abolish them. 2. No more fiefs should, 
in future, be drawn to Rome, and no more be obtained there 
in any way whatever, but should again be disengaged from 
the grasp of tyranny. 3. An imperial edict should be issued, 
prohibiting the obtaining from Rome a bishop's robe, or the 
confirmation of any dignity, but a bishop should, (according to 
the decree of the Council of Nice,) be ordained by the two 
others who resided nearest to him, or else by the archbishop. 
4. No temporal affairs should be drawn to Rome, but all of 
them be left to the temporal authorities. 5. No reservation 
should henceforth be allowed, and no more fiefs be obtained at 
Rome. 6. The so-called reserved cases should likewise be 
abolished, as by means of them not only much money is exact- 
ed from the people, but many weak consciences are perplexed 
and confused. 7. The Roman See should abolish the officia 



l lS THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY 

and diminish the crowds and swarms of its servants. 8. The 
severe and shocking oaths which the bishops are compelled to 
render to the Pope should be abolished, 9. The Pope should 
have no power over the Emperor,, except to anoint and to 
crown him at the altar, as a bishop crowns a king ; and the 
satanical pride, which requires the Emperor to kiss the Pope's 
feet or to sit at his feet, should, by no means,, be allowed in 
future, much less should he take the oath of allegiance and 
faithful subjection to the Pope, which the Popes impudently 
venture to demand, as though they had a just claim to do so. 
Such exceedingly presumptuous, haughty, and insolent de- 
mand of the Pope has been invented by the devil, in order r 
under cover of it, in time, to introduce Antichrist, and to exalt 
the Pope above God, as many already do, and have done, 

10. The Pope should refrain himself and not assume the title 
of king of Naples and Sicily. He has just as much right to it 
as I have. Therefore the Emperor should, instead, point him 
to the Bible and prayer-books, that he might permit temporal 
lords to govern the country and the people, especially those 
which nobody has given him, and he preach and pray. 

11. The kissing of the feet of the Pope should not occur any 
more. It is an unchristian and anti-christian example. 12. The 
pilgrimages to Rome should be abolished, and no one should 
be permitted to go on a pilgrimage to gratify his own private 
fancy or devotion. 13. On no account should more cloisters 
for mendicant friars be erected. The Lord knows there are 
already, by far, too many, and would to God they were all 
abolished, or at least collected at two or three places ! They 
should, moreover, be excused for preaching and hearing con- 
fession, unless they are called upon and desired for this pur- 
pose. So there should also be abolished the many different 
sects and distinctions in the same order. The Pope should, 
likewise, be prohibited from establishing or confirming more 
such orders, and he should be compelled to abolish several, and 
to reduce them to a smaller number. Forasmuch as faith in 
Christ, which alone is the chief good, and which can exist 
without any order, is in no little danger of being lost to men, 
since among so many different works and ways, they are easily 
seduced to trust more to such works and ways, than to have 
respect to faith. In my estimation, it would be a necessary 
regulation, especially in our dangerous times, again to make 
endowed institutions and cloisters what they were in the be- 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



149 



ginning, with the apostles, and for some time afterwards, when 
they were all free and every one was at liberty to remain in 
them as long as he saw proper, 14, According to the institu- 
tion of Christ and his apostles, every town is to have a pastor 
or bishop, as Paul clearly writes to Titus 1 , and this pastor is 
not constrained to live in celibacy, but may marry, as St. Paul 
writes, 1 Tim, 3. The Roman See, in its own presumption, has 
ventured to pass it into a general law, forbidding the priests to 
marry; it was the devil that instigated them to this, as St. 
Paul, 1 Tim. 4, declares. My advice is, again to leave it op- 
tional with every one, to marry or not 1 5. The evil spirit has 
possessed several abbots, abbesses, and prelates, that they, at 
confession, reserve to themselves all or at least some mortal 
sins, those, namely, whieh are secret, and forbid any brother to 
absolve the other from them, under pain of excommunication 
and punishment for violation of vows, I here counsel such 
children, brethren and sisters : if your superiors will not allow 
you to confess your secret sins to whom you wish, then go with 
them and confess them to your brother or sister, whom and 
where you choose, be absolved and comforted, then depart and 
do what is lawful and right ; only firmly believe that you arc 
absolved, and all is right 16. It would be well, too, either 
wholly to abolish the anniversaries, celebrations and requiems, 
or at least greatly to diminish their number, since they have 
become a mere mockery, greatly to the displeasure of God, and 
minister only to the gratification of avarice and the sensual 
appetites, 17. A number of penalties imposed by the spiritual 
law should likewise be abolished, especially the interdict, 
which is most undoubtedly an invention of the evil spirit. 
18. All the festivals should be abolished, and Sunday alone be 
retained : but if it should still be desired to observe the festival 
of our lady, or of the distinguished saints, they should all be 
transferred to Sunday. 19. The degrees within which it is 
forbidden to marry, should be changed. So likewise should the 
fasts as well as all manner of food be left optional with every 
one, as the Gospel allows. 20. The chapels in the wilds and 
the field-churches should be razed to the ground, those, for in- 
stance to which the new pilgrimages are made. I would that 
the good saints were left undisturbed, and the poor ignorant 
multitude unseduced. What spirit has given the Pope power 
to exalt the saints? Who informs him whether they are holy 
or unholy? Are there not sins enough on earth already, that 



150 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



God must also be tempted, by interference in his judgments, 
and by making money-gods of the dear saints ? 21. All men- 
dicancy should be abolished throughout Christendom : every 
town should support its own poor, and admit no strange beg- 
gars, whether they be hermits or mendicant friars. 22. It is 
likewise to be feared, that the multitude of masses made 
incumbent on endowed institutions and cloisters, are not only 
of little use, but greatly excite the wrath of God ; wherefore it 
would be well not to endow any more such, but to abolish 
many of those endowed, since it is evident, that they are 
regarded only as sacrifices and good works, whilst they are a 
sacrament, just as baptism and repentance, which are useful,, 
not to others, but only to those that receive them. 23. The 
confraternities as well as indulgences, letters of indulgence,, 
butter-certificates, mass-certificates, dispensations, and what 
else there is of the same sort : extirpate them, lay the axe to 
the root, and let all be drowned and destroyed, there is nothing 
good in them. And first, there should be expelled from the 
German dominions the papal emissaries with their authorities,, 
which they sell to us for large sums of money, whilst it is all 
mere knavery, as for instance, that they for money make un- 
just gain just, absolve from oaths, vows and contracts, thus 
subverting and teaching to subvert all trust and confidence 
plighted between man and man, and all this under the pretence 
that the Pope has power to do so. The evil spirit has insti- 
gated them to speak thus, and to vend to us such satanical 
doctrines, taking money for teaching us to sin, and for leading 
us to perdition. If there were no other wicked artifice to prove 
that the Pope is the true Antichrist, this very thing would be 
sufficient to establish it. Dost thou hear it, O Pope ! not the 
most holy, but the most sinful — that God might visit thy See 
with swift destruction from heaven, and sink it down to the 
abyss of hell — who has authorized thee to exalt thyself above 
thy God, to violate and to annul what He has commanded, and 
to teach Christians, especially the German nation, who are of 
noble nature, and praised in all histories for their constancy 
and fidelity, to become inconstant, perjured, traitorous, knavish 
and faithless ? God has commanded us to observe oaths and 
fidelity even towards enemies, and thou venturest to annul 
such command, teachest in thy heretical, anti-christian decre- 
tals, that thou hast power to do so, the malicious devil all the 
while speaking falsehoods by thy mouth and pen. such as he 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



151 



has never yet spoken, whilst thou dost wrest and contort the 
Scriptures most wickedly. Oh, Christ ! my Lord, look down, 
let Thy last day come swiftly, and destroy the devil's habitation 
at Rome. Here is seated the man of whom Paul prophesied, 
that he would exalt himself above Thee, and sit in Thy Church, 
acting as a god, the man of sin and son of perdition, 24. It is 
high time, too, that we once seriously and uprightly take up 
the dispute with the Bohemians, and endeavour to restore 
union between themselves and us, so that the shocking blas- 
phemies, hatred and envy, chargeable on both sides, may at 
length cease. 25. The universities, too, will need to be 
thoroughly reformed, I must say it, let it displease whom it 
may. The Holy Scriptures should take precedence of all 
things, and form the chief object of attention in the higher and 
lower schools, and for the smaller boys the Gospel. And would 
to God each town had its female school too, in which the girls 
might daily, for one hour, attend to the Gospel.'* In connexion 
with the 26th point, Luther meets the pretension, that the 
Pope had taken the holy Roman realm from the Greek empe- 
rors and transferred it to the Germans, for which honour and 
benefit he justly deserved subjection, gratitude, and every good 
from the Germans, and on which account he claimed authori- 
ty to check all attempts at reformation. He, in the 27th place, 
then draws attention to some defects in temporal affairs, for 
instance, the excessive extravagance and expense in regard to 
the article of clothing, the superfluous spicery, the putting 
money on interest, the usury of the Fuggers and similar asso- 
ciations, the free, common brothels, &c. " Finally," he sa}'S, 
" I am aware, that I shall be considered to have touched high 
keys, to have proposed many things which will be deemed im- 
possible, and to have discoursed on many points with too much 
severity. But what shall I do ? I am in duty bound to speak 
out on these matters. If I could, I would accomplish them in 
action too. I will sooner have the world to be displeased with 
me than God ; men, certainly, will not be able to deprive me 
of anything more than life. I have, thus far, repeatedly made 
overtures of peace to my adversaries, but God, I perceive, has, 
through them, constrained me only continually to speak out 
the more boldly." 42 

Authorities.— Let., No. 137, 153, 158, 160. Contra malignum 
Jo. Eccii judicium super aliquot articulis a fratribus quibusdam ei impo- 
sitis M. Lutheri defensio, in Loscher, HI., ch. 13. Emser's letter to 



152 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



Zaek, ib. ch. 10. Ad jEgocerotem Emserianum M. Lutheri responsio, 
ib. Let., No. 162, (the letters of the two Bohemians in Loscher, as 
quoted,) 167, 190. Sermon on the holy sacrament, and all the writings 
and letters called forth by it, W. W., vol. 17., divis. VI., p. 272 seq, 
Let., No. 190, 191, 195, 196. The answer of the bishops, W. W., vol. 
17, p. 294 and 297. Let, No. 207, 162, (Selnecc, p. 94,) 203. The 
writings of those of Cologne and Louvaine, Lat. in Loscher, III., ch. 
12, Germ, in the W. W., Hall. ed. vol. 15, p. 1589, seq., where too is 
found Luther's answer, Germ. (Lat. Jen. opp. latt.,T. I., p. 264.) Let., 
No. 225, 228, 231. Concerning the papacy at Rome, &c, W. W., 
vol. 17, p. 430 b. Aurifaber's account, &c, ib. p. 380, Let., No. 184, 
192, 206. Melanchth. Epp. (in the Corpus Reform., T. L,) lib. II., 
N. 75, 78, 88, 86 and 103. The letters of Erasmus in the collections 
and in Seckend., p. 96. The letter of the Elector to Teutleben, W. W., 
vol. 17, p. 297. Let., No. 238. Melanchth. Epp. L II., N. 57, 64. 
Hutten's letter to Luther, W. W., vol. 17, p. 304. Sehauenburg's ib., 
p. 381. Let., No. 243, 240. Spangenberg's Adelsspiegel, vol. 2, fol. 
33 b. To the Christian nobility of the German nation, &c, W. W,, 
vol. 17, p. 457. 

Notes.— 1.) This title has reference to the feet, that Emser had 
placed his armorial bearing, in which there was the representation of a 
wild goat, on the title page, with these words subjoined : Noster hie 
^Egoceron sine fceno peccat in uno, Quod non est Lucse linea ducta 
manu. 

2. ) Emser's real design probably was, to prevent an approximation 
between L. and the Bohemians, by causing these to entertain suspicions 
of Luther. The latter was not willing to have himself thus unceremo- 
niously numbered among the Bohemians ; he did, indeed, entertain a 
better opinion of them than the papal adherents, but yet he did not know 
precisely what to think of them. Compare page 127. 

3. ) Its title was : A venatione Lutheriana jEgocerotis assertio. 
Loscher, III., ch. 10. Eck, too, entered the lists and published a Re- 
sponsio pro H. Emser, contra malesanam Lutheri venationem ad Joh, 
Schleznitz, Eccl. Misn. Episcopum, remarkable for this, that in it the 
name Lutherans is first used. Loscher, III., p. 934. In opposition to 
this John (Ecolampadius wrote his Canonicorum indoctorum Lutherano- 
rum ad Joh. Eccium Responsio, ibid. 

4. ) Luther had previously corresponded with him in regard to the pri- 
macy of the Pope, what, however, as being of less importance, we have 
passed by. Comp. Loscher, III., ch. 3. 

5. ) L. did not yet attack the mass itself any further, he complained 
only that (in consequence of the increasing number of silent masses,) 
the Lord's Supper nearly ceased to be a communion and was reduced 
to an opus operatum. 

6. ) These letters were written on the 4th February, but not dis- 
patched till the 24th. (Comp. Let., No. 204.) It seems as if L. 
wrote them at the instance of the court, or, at least, of Spalatin. 

7. ) L. wrote it on tho 7th February, and it appeared a few days 
afterwards. 

8. ) As contained in the first collection of them, which appeared in 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 153 

Basle in the beginning of the year 1519, and concerning which Lu. 
ther expresses an opinion in letter, No. 123. 

9. ) During this time he was put on his guard, too, as to treacherous 
designs against his life. Comp. Let., No. 221, 240, and the account, 
how, in the year 1520, it was attempted, treacherously, to murder Dr. 
Luther, in the W. W., vol. 17, p. 378. 

10. ) Melanchthon was engaged upon this writing already, in No- 
vember, 1520, (comp. Let, No. 269,) but it did not make its appear- 
ance till February, 1521. 

11. ) This answer of the Elector is dated on the 9th April, 1520, 
it must, however, have been issued several months subsequent to this, 
since Luther's letters to Spalatin, No. 238-240, exercised a visible 
influence on their contents. 

12. ) On the 23d August this writing was circulated already to the 
number of 4000 copies, and a second edition was issued. See Let., 
No. 250, 252. 



CHAPTER X* 

CONCERNING SEVERAL WRITINGS OF LUTHEr's WHICH PLEASED HIM 
BETTER THAN HIS CONTROVERSIAL WRITINGS. 

During the years 1519 and 1520, Luther was kept extraordina- 
rily employed. Spalatin having, at the desire of the Elector, 
called upon him to write an Explanation of the Gospels and 
Epistles for the Fast Days, he excused himself (on the 18th 
December, 1519, and 8th February, 1520,) with his numerous 
engagements and want of time. It was especially the book of 
Psalms, on which, at that time, at the urgent request of his 
hearers, he was lecturing for the second time, that caused him 
much labour and trouble. " You will believe," he writes to 
Spalatin, "what labour one single verse alone sometimes 
requires." 

A Latin explanation of the first twenty-two Psalms Luther 
had published already, in the year 1519. Not venturing to 
call it explanation or commentary, he entitled it Operationes in 
Psalmos, or labours on the Psalms, and dedicated it to his 
Elector. In the dedication he refers to a declaration of the 
latter, which, he says, Staupitz had, on a certain occasion, com- 
municated to him. The conversation having turned upon 
preachers, the Elector had said, that those sermons which con- 
sisted in subtilties and human fancies, had no interest for him, 
and seemed powerless, since nothing could be advanced which 
was so subtile but it could be refuted by some other subtilty. 



154 THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 

That it was the Holy Scriptures alone, which, without any 
addition of ours, have such a majesty and power, as speedily 
to triumph over all the arts of discussion, and to constrain us 
to acknowledge : " So never man spake, here is the finger of 
God, for they speak with authority and not as the Scribes and 
Pharisees." This pleasing anecdote, says Luther further, had 
caused him to cherish the greatest regard for the Elector, for 
he did not know how it happened, he was constrained to love 
those whom he found to be friends of the Holy Scriptures, and 
to hate those who despised and destroyed them. To this, his 
love, therefore, the Elector was requested to permit the dedica- 
tion of this book to him. That he did not presume to have done, 
what none of the holiest and most learned fathers had been able 
to do, namely, fully to have understood and explained the book 
of Psalms in all its parts. That it was already enough to have 
understood some Psalms, and these only in part ; that the Holy 
Ghost reserved much to himself, he wishing always to have us 
remain his pupils. That this, his second course on the Psalms 
was very different from the first, and that there was no book 
in the Holy Scriptures which had kept him in such constant 
exercise as this. He finally thus expresses himself concerning 
the Book of Psalms: "This book, in my judgment, differs as 
to its contents, from all other books. In the rest we are taught, 
by word and example, what we ought to do ; but this does not 
teach alone, it likewise points out to us the way and manner 
in which we can fulfil the Word and imitate the example. For 
we have not the power to fulfil God's law and to follow Christ ; 
but it does become us to pray and to long for the ability to 
fulfil the law and to follow after Christ, and when we have ob- 
tained it, to return praises and thanks. But what is the Book 
of Psalms else than prayer and praise to God ? Thus the good 
Spirit of God, who is a father to the infant child and a teacher 
of the inexperienced, seeing that we did not know what and 
how to pray, came to the aid of our weakness, and after the 
manner of school-teachers, who instruct their pupils how to 
write and to speak to their parents, has, in this book, likewise 
set before us the words and the manner with which we are to 
address our Heavenly Father, and to pray for that, which, in 
the other books, He has taught us to do and to imitate, in 
order that there might not be wanting to man anything whi^h 
is necessary to his salvation. Thus great are the care and the 
goodness of God in our behalf — to Him be praise forever." 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 155 

In the same year, (in September,) there likewise appeared 
his Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians. In this work 
Luther clearly points out the difference between outward and 
nrward righteousness, and that no man becomes righteous by 
works, but only by faith in Christ, in reference to which he, 
however, remarks : " That the apostle does not reject the 
works, but only the false trust and confidence in the works, 
that is, he rejects not the works as if we were not to perform 
them, but he says, that no one becomes pious and justified by 
the works, and cannot become so either." He directs attention 
to the fact, " that Paul not only calls sacrificial offerings works 
of the law, but likewise all the works embraced in the ten 
commandments. For even these, if they are performed with- 
out faith and true righteousness, are not sufficient, and only 
cause hypocrites to have a false confidence in themselves. 
Paul," says he, " had not been understood, because it had not 
been understood what is meant by works of the law. By works 
of the law we are not to understand that by which satisfac- 
tion is rendered to the law. What then must fulfil the law ? 
The rule of the apostle is this : The works do not fulfil the law, 
but the fulfilment of the law does works. No one becomes 
righteous by performing the works of a righteous person, but 
a righteous person performs good and righteous works. Be- 
fore the works are done, there must first be righteousness and 
fulfilment of the law, for from these the works flow. There- 
fore Paul makes a distinction between the works of the law 
and the works of grace or the works of God. For the works 
of the law truly belong to the law and not to us, because they 
are not done from our free and acting will, but through the 
constraint and threatening of the law, or also through the pro- 
mise of the law." On chapter 4, verse 5, he says, concerning 
the adoption as sons by God, that it is with it as with other 
things, which are to be understood thus : " Not as if they were 
fulfilled in us, but that Christ has fulfilled them, in order that 
they might be fulfilled in us. For thus all things have been 
begun, that they might be more and more fulfilled from day to 
day. We have been redeemed and are still redeemed every 
day. We have received the adoption of sons, and still receive 
it. We have already, too, become children of God, and still 
daily become so. The Holy Ghost has been sent, is sent, and 
will continue always to be sent. We understand and shall 



♦ 



156 THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 

understand. Therefore you are not to think or to imagine that 
the Christian's life is a standing still or a resting, but a draw- 
ing and going or pilgrimaging from sin to righteousness, from 
vice to virtue, from love unto love, from one virtue unto 
another. And those that are not continually making progress 
are not to be regarded as Christians, but as a people of peace 
and indolence, upon whom the prophet will speedily bring in 
their enemies." 

This commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians was re- 
ceived with great rejoicing ; went through many editions, and 
was translated. 1 Martin Bucer, having been able only hastily, 
during one night to examine the work, which a friar had 
brought with him from Nuremberg, wrote to Spalatin concern- 
ing it, being in an ecstasy of joy, and Melanchthon, who had 
written a preface and postscript to this commentary, in a letter 
to John Hess, of Breslau, called it the thread of Theseus, which 
one might safely follow in the labyrinth of this epistle. 

Besides these commentaries and his controversial writings, 
Luther, during this time, likewise wrote a large number of 
didactic and consolatory treatises, so that we can easily com- 
prehend what he, (in the letters mentioned,) writes to Spa- 
latin : " I certainly have a rapid hand and a brisk memory, so 
that what I write rather flows into my pen without any effort 
or labour on my part ; and yet I cannot meet all engage- 
ments." 

In this connexion must first be mentioned his Tesseradecas 
consolatoria pro laborantibus et onoratis, which nearly at the 
same time (February, 1520,) appeared in a German translation 
by Spalatin, under the title : " A consolatory treatise for every 
afflicted Christian." He wrote it at the instance of Spalatin, 
to comfort the Elector in his illness, because the command of 
Christ to visit and to comfort the sick, was to be observed by 
us as a universal command towards all men, much more, 
therefore, towards those of the same faith, and most of all 
towards friends and neighbours, according to St. Paul's distinc- 
tion, (Gal. 6, 10). But he gave to this treatise the name Tes- 
seradecas, because he had divided it into fourteen chapters, that 
thus it might become beneficial to the Elector instead of the 
fourteen comforters in need : the first part contains " seven por- 
traits or representations of the evils, troubles, and adversities," 
the second part, " seven representations of things agreeable." 



« 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 157 

Concerning this treatise of Luther's, Erasmus wrote that it had 
met with the approbation even of those, who, in other respects, 
were decidedly opposed to his doctrines. 

In the month of March appeared Luther's Ratio confitendi, 
or treatise on confession, which Spalatin likewise translated 
into German. In this, Luther especially impresses it upon men, 
by no means, to trust either in past or future confession, but 
with a firm faith to confide wholly and alone iri the most mer- 
ciful promise of God ; he shows how the good resolution to do 
better is to be rightly understood, what is to be thought of the 
requirement to confess secret sins, and that a great distinction 
is to be made between sins against God's commandments, and 
against the statutes of men ; finally, he expresses his displea- 
sure concerning it, that through the reserved cases and the 
subject of vows many souls were grievously burdened, so that 
" the most beneficial sacrament of repentance had become to be 
nothing else but a mere tyrannizing of the great lords, bringing 
in its train distress and increase of sin." 

At the time of publishing the Ratio covfitendi, Luther was 
already again engaged with a sermon on good works, which, 
however, grew to the size of a book, and of which he himself, 
whilst writing it, entertained the hope that it would prove the 
best thing he thus far had written. In the dedication of it to 
Duke John, of Saxony, the Elector's brother, he thus replies to 
the objection of those who were accustomed to say, that he 
wrote only little books and German sermons for ignorant lay- 
men : " Would to God I had, during my life, with all my 
ability, benefitted one layman, I would be satisfied, praise 
God, and quite willingly, afterwards, see all my little books 
perish. I shall, most cordially, leave the honour of performing 
greater things to others, and not be at all ashamed of preach- 
ing and writing in German for ignorant laymen. Although I 
cannot pretend to much even in this respect, yet I think, if we 
had heretofore applied ourselves more to this, and did more 
apply ourselves thus in future, Christendom would have de- 
rived and would derive from it more advantage and benefit 
than from those lofty and abstruse books and questions, treated 
of only in the schools among the learned." In the book itself 
he says, that there are no good works except only those which 
God has commanded, that the first, and highest, and noblest 
good work is faith in Christ, as he says to the Jews, John 6, 
and that therefore all good works must proceed from this work, 



158 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



and must receive, what good they have, like a fief, from it. 
That consequently it is accursed unbelief, and an abridging 
and diminishing the number of services to God, to whom 
everything that can be done, spoken, or thought in faith, is a 
service, to confine good works within so narrow a limit, as to 
say, that they consist only in prayer and fasting and the giving 
of alms, whilst all manner of works for the support of the body 
and for the common good, are considered useless. That every 
one can himself perceive when he is doing good and when he 
is not. If he finds in his heart the assurance, that what he 
does pleases God, the work is good, even if it were as insigni- 
ficant as the lifting up of a straw. If the assurance is not 
there, or he has doubts in regard to the work, it is not good, 
though it should raise up all the dead, for (Romans 14,) 
Paul says: "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin." That in this 
faith now all works become equal, and one is as good as the 
other, because the works are acceptable, not on their own ac- 
count, but on account of faith, and that therefore a Christian 
living in this faith does not need a teacher of good works. 
That it is higher than all works, however, joyfully to confide 
in God, that He means it well with us and not as things 
appear, when to our thoughts and understanding He shows 
himself angry with us. " To those that in distress trust God, 
and retain the firm confidence in Him that He loves them, dis- 
tresses and adversities are the most precious merits, and the 
noblest and most invaluable treasures. For faith and confi- 
dence make all that most precious before God, which to the rest 
proves most injurious." But that the highest degree of faith is 
to believe even when God, not merely with temporal suffering, 
but with death, hell and sin, afflicts the conscience, refusing 
all grace and mercy, as though he would condemn and be 
angry forever. To believe here, that God has a gracious 
design with us, is the highest work which can be done by and 
in the creature, a work of which those that trust in outward 
works and good deeds know nothing whatever. According to 
this rule, Luther then takes up the holy ten commandments, 
one after the other, and from them demonstrates what are 
good works and what are not. 

In this class belongs, also, the "Brief direction for con- 
templating the ten commandments, the creed, and the Lortfs 
prayer'' which Luther published in the year 15.20, "as a plain 
Christian direction and mirror, to teach a knowledge of sin 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



159 



and to pray," because in the usual prayer-books the common 
people were harassed and distressed by directions for the con- 
fession and enumeration of sin, and were taught to use un- 
christian and foolish expressions in their prayers to God and 
to His saints. 

But especially must we here also notice the little work de 
libertate Christiana, or "concerning the freedom of a Christian,' 1 
which Luther published in October, 1520, and dedicated to 
Pope Leo X., (see the next chapter,) with a sincere wish for 
promoting peace and brightening the prospects of the future, 
from which he wrote, "thy holiness may perceive in what 
kind of things I would like to be engaged, and that too, for the 
purpose of accomplishing good, if thy unchristian sycophants 
did only permit me." 

In the beginning of this work he advances the following two 
contradictory Theses: 1. "A Christian is a free lord over all 
things, and subject to no one. 2. A Christian is a tributary 
servant to all things, and subject to every one ; " these things 
being distinctly asserted by St. Paul, 1 Cor. 9. 19 : "J am free 
from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all" So in 
Rom. 13. 8: "Owe no man anything but to love one another" 
and are to be explained from the fact, that every Christian has 
two natures, one spiritual, the other corporeal. " If we con- 
template the inner spiritual man, and inquire what constitutes 
him a pious, free Christian — it is manifest that no outward 
thing can constitute him free or pious, let it be called what it 
may — for neither his piety and freedom, nor his wickedness 
and captivity, are corporeal or outward. What does it profit 
the soul that the body is free, fresh, and hale, eating, drinking, 
and living at its pleasure ? Again, what injury is it to the soul 
that the body is imprisoned, sick and faint, hungering, thirsting, 
and suffering what it does not wish 1 None of these things 
reach the soul, either to liberate or to imprison it, to make it 
pious or to make it wicked. Thus the soul is not profited by 
it, that the body is clad in holy garments, such as the priests 
and the clergy wear ; neither that it is in the Church or holy 
places ; neither that it prays corporeally, fasts, undertakes pil- 
grimages, or does all other good works, which could ever be 
accomplished through and in the body throughout eternity. It 
must all be something very different from this if it is ever to 
afford or to give freedom to the soul. For all the particulars, 
works and ways, mentioned above, also a wicked man, a 



160 



THE TIME OP THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



dissembler and a hypocrite, may have and practice. . . . The 
soul has nothing else, either in heaven or on earth, through 
which it can live, be pious, free and Christian, except the holy 
Gospel, preached by Christ, as he himself says, John 1 1 : lam ihe 
life and the resurrection, he that . believeth on me, Hveth forever. 
So, 14:7 am the way, the truth and the life. So Matt. 4 : Man 
liveth not of bread alone, but of every word that proceedeth out of 
the mouth of God. We are accordingly to be assured, that the 
soul can dispense with everything, excepting God's Word, and 
that without God's Word, nothing will be of any advantage to 
it. If, however, it has the Word, it has no need of anything 
further, for in the Word it has enough, food, joy, peace, light, 
skill, righteousness, truth, wisdom, freedom, and every good in 
abundance. . . . But if you ask : What, then, is that Word 
which gives such exceeding grace, and how am I to use it ? 
Answer : It is nothing else but what is preached concerning 
Christ, as contained in the Gospel, and which consists in this, 
that you hear your God speak to you, how all your life and 
your works are nothing before God, and that you, with all that 
is in you, must perish forever. Which, if you sincerely believe, 
as it is your duty to do, then you must despair of yourself, and 
acknowledge that the declaration of Hosea is true : O, Israel, 
thou hast destroyed thyself, but in me is thy help. But that you 
may be delivered from yourself, that is, from your destruction, 
He places before you His dear Son, Jesus Christ, and, in His 
life-giving, consolatory Word, directs you, with a firm faith, to 
surrender yourself to Him, and without any hesitation to con- 
fide in Him. Then shall your sins, because of that same faith, 
all be forgiven you, all your destruction shall be overcome, and 
you be righteous, true, contented and pious ; all the command- 
ments being fulfilled, and you being free from all things, as St. 
Paul says, Rom. 1 : A justified Christian lives only by his faith. 
And Rom. 10: Christ is the end and the fulfilment of all com- 
mandments to them that believe in Him. Therefore this should 
properly be the only work and exercise of all Christians, tho- 
roughly to learn the Word and Christ, continually to exercise 
and to strengthen such faith, for no other work can constitute 
any one a Christian, as Christ, John 6, speaking to the Jews, 
who had inquired of Him what they should do in order to per- 
form divine and Christian works, said: That is the only divine 
work, that you believe in Him whom God has sent. Whom alone, 
also, God the Father has ordained for this purpose. Therefore. 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



161 



trae faith in Christ is an incalculable treasure, for it brings 
with it all salvation, and removes all wretchedness." 

He then explains how it happens that faith alone makes 
pious, and without all works gives such exceedingly great 
treasures, whilst still there are prescribed to us in the Holy 
Scriptures, so many laws, commandments, works, stations, and 
regulations. He directs attention to the fact, that everything 
contained in the Holy Scriptures is embraced under two heads, 
that it is either law and commandment of God, or promise and 
assurance. That the commandments did, indeed, prescribe to 
us various good works, but that with this they were not yet 
performed ; they, indeed, teach what we are to do, but give no 
strength to perform ; that they all belong to the Old Testa- 
ment, and were designed especially for this, that man through 
them might learn his inability to do good, and thus be led to 
despair of himself. " If now," continues he, " man has, from 
the commandments, learned his inability, and is, through them, 
made sensible of it, so that he becomes distressed, not knowing 
how to satisfy the commandments, which still must be fulfilled ; 
then he is truly humbled and feels his utter nothingness, disco- 
vering nothing in himself by which he can become pious. 
Here, then, comes the other word, the divine promise and 
assurance, and says : Do you wish to fulfil all the command- 
ments, be delivered from your evil desires and your sins, as the 
commandments exact and demand ; behold, believe in Christ, in 
whom I promise you all grace, righteousness, peace and freedom ; 
if you believe, you have ; if you do not believe, you have not. 
For that which is impossible to you with all the works of the 
commandments, of which there are many, but without saving 
power, is easily and speedily obtained by you, through faith. 
For I have briefly comprised all things in faith, so that he who 
has it, shall have all things ; he that has it not, shall have 
nothing. Thus the promises of God give, what the command- 
ments require, and fulfil what the commandments enjoin, that 
all may belong to God, both commandment and fulfilment. 
He alone enjoins, He alone, too, fulfils. Therefore the pro- 
mises are God's Word of the New Testament, and properly be- 
long to the New Testament. Now these and all words of God 
are holy, true, righteous, peaceful, free, and full of all grace. 
Therefore the soul of him, who, with true faith cleaves to them, 
is united with it so wholly and so truly, that all the virtue of 
the Word is imparted to the soul, and thus through faith, the . 

11 



162 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



soul is, by the Word of God, made holy, righteous, true, peaceful, 
free, and full of all grace, a true child of God, as John 1, says . 
He has given to them that they may become children of God, all 
that believe in his name. From all which it is readily per- 
ceived, why faith can accomplish so much, and that no good 
works can be equal to it. For no good work cleaves to the 
Divine Word as faith does, nor can it be in the soul ; for Word 
and faith alone rule in the soul. As the Word is, so the soul 
becomes through it, just as iron becomes red-hot like fire, by a 
union with fire. Thus we see that a Christian has enough 
with faith, and has no need of any work to make him pious. 
Since, then, he has no more need of works, he certainly is ab- 
solved from all commandments and laws. But if he is absolved, 
he certainly is free. This is Christian freedom, faith singly and 
alone, which enables us, not to be idle or to do evil, but to dis- 
pense with all works in the attainment of piety and salva- 
tion. . . . But not only does faith cause the soul to become 
like the Divine Word, full of all grace, free and happy, but it 
likewise unites the soul with Christ, as a bride is united with 
her bridegroom. . . . Here now begins the joyful exchange and 
contest. Because Christ is God and man, who has never sin- 
ned, and whose piety is invincible, eternal, and almighty, and 
since, through her bridal-ring, which is faith, He makes the 
sins of the believing soul His own, and does not otherwise than 
as if He himself had committed them ; therefore sin must 
be swallowed up and drowned in Him, for His invincible 
righteousness subdues all sin. Thus the soul, through its love- 
pledge, that is, in consequence of faith, becomes purified from 
all its sins, delivered and free, and endowed with the eternal 
righteousness of its bridegroom, Christ." 

He further says, that the reason why so much is ascribed to 
faith, is, that it fulfils all commandments, and makes pious 
without any other works, since it honours God, in ascribing to 
Him truth and all that is good, thus fulfilling the first and 
greatest commandment, and with it all other commandments, 
that works, however, as dead things, cannot honour or praise 
God. He then thus proceeds to demonstrate what a great 
blessing true faith is: In the Old Testament, the first-born 
possessed the distinguished privilege of ruling, and of ex- 
ercising the priestly office. This typifies Christ, the first-born, 
who is a King and a Priest, though spiritually. His kingdom 
is concerned with spiritual blessings, as truth, wisdom, peace. 



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joy, happiness, &c, though temporal things are not excluded, 
much rather are all things subjected to Him, albeit, we do not 
behold Him, because He rules spiritually and invisibly. Neither 
does His priestly office consist in the performance of outward 
ceremonies, but He intercedes for us at all times, and instructs 
us inwardly in the heart. This, His primogeniture, with its 
honours and dignities, Christ divides with all His Christians ; 
by faith they become kings and priests with Him. By faith, a 
Christian in a spiritual manner becomes lord of all things ; and 
though he cannot outwardly possess and use them, but must, 
much rather, succumb to death and many other things, yet 
nothing can prove detrimental to his salvation, and all things 
must much rather be subject to him and prove subservient to 
his salvation. So Christ, likewise, has acquired for him the 
priestly office, which makes him worthy to appear before God 
and to intercede for others. " Who now is able to conceive 
the honour and the greatness of a Christian ? Through his 
kingly office he has power over all things ; through his priestly 
office he prevails with God, for God complies with his prayer 
and wish, as is written in the Psalm : * God fulfils the desire of 
them that fear him^ and hears their cry/ Which honour is 
conferred upon him only because of faith and not because of 
any works. From all which we clearly learn, how a Christian 
is free from all things, and is over all things, so that he has no 
need of any good works to become pious and happy, faith 
affording him everything in abundance." 

He finally adds, that the distinction which had been made 
between priests and laymen, took away all proper understand- 
ing of Christian grace, freedom, faith, and everything else that 
we have from Christ, yea, Christ himself. So likewise, that it 
is not sufficient to preach the life and work of Christ superfi- 
cially and only historically ; but that he must be preached so, 
that faith may be produced and kept alive by it, which is done, 
when it is- said how we are to use and to enjoy him, what he 
has brought and given us. That this rejoices and most sub- 
stantially comforts the heart, and draws it to Christ to love 
Him in return, which can never be accomplished by means of 
laws and works. 

Upon this he proceeds to the second part, and in the first 
place, answers all those that take offence at the preceding re- 
marks, and says: "If this be so, and faith supplies the place of 



164 



THE TIME OP THE FIRST TESTIMONY, 



everything, and is, of itself, sufficient to make us pious, why 
then are good works commanded ? Then let us be of good 
cheer and do nothing." To this he replies, " That might be true 
if man had already become wholly inward and spiritual ; but 
that of this there is only a beginning made on earth. Accord- 
ing to the soul," says he, "man is indeed sufficiently justified by 
faith, and has everything he is to have, except that faith is to 
continue always to increase ; but he withal remains in this 
temporal life on earth, and must govern his own body and 
have intercourse with men. Here, now, begin the works, he 
dares not live in indolence, but the body must be exercised 
and urged on that it become conformed to the inner man, to 
faith and obedience, not hindering and resisting, as its manner 
is, when it is not constrained by force ; for the inward man who 
is one with God, and would in his love like to serve God, finds 
in his flesh a refractory will, which strives to serve the world, 
and pursues that which pleases it. But the works are not to 
be done in the hope that man through them becomes pious be- 
fore God, but that the body may become obedient and purified 
from its evil desires. Good pious works, never make a good, 
pious man ; but a good, pious man does good, pious works. 
Evil works never make an evil man ; but an evil man does 
evil works. So that in all cases, the person must first be good 
and pious before he can do anything good, and good works 
flow and proceed from a pious and good person. Just accord- 
ing as a man has faith or not, so his works are good or evil, 
but not as his works are so is he pious or in faith. Works, as 
they do not cause faith, so neither do they make pious ; but 
faith, as it makes pious, so it likewise causes good works. 
Therefore he that wishes to do good works must begin, not 
with the works, but with the person that is to do the works. 
Where the false addition and the perverse intention are con- 
nected with the works, to become pious and saved through 
them, they are already no longer good but altogether con- 
demnable, for they are not free, and derogate from the grace of 
God. But this simple addition and perverse intention are in- 
superable where there is no faith. Therefore we are not to 
preach only the one, but both Words of God. We are to 
preach the commandments, to terrify sinners, and to reveal to 
them their sins, that they may repent and be converted. But 
we are not to let this suffice ; the other word, the promise of 



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165 



grace must likewise be preached in order to teach faith, with- 
out which the commandments, repentance, and everything else 
is in vain. 

" But man lives not only in his own body, (which he is to sub- 
due and exercise,) but likewise among other men on earth ; 
therefore he cannot be without works towards those, although 
of these works he needs none for piety or salvation. All works 
are to have for their object the good of our neighbour, because 
every one has sufficient for himself in his faith, and all other 
works with his life remain to him, to serve his neighbour with 
them freely from the dictates of love. A Christian is to have 
the same mind which he sees in Christ, so that although he is 
wholly free, he, notwithstanding, again willingly becomes a 
servant, to aid his neighbour, to proceed and to deal with him 
as God has dealt with him through Christ. And all this with- 
out hope of gain, seeking nothing but the pleasure of God, and 
thinking thus: 4 Verily, my God has, through and in Christ, 
without any merit on my part, but freely and purely from 
mercy, bestowed upon me, an unworthy condemned being, the 
full measure of piety and salvation, so that henceforth I need 
do nothing more than believe that it is so. Therefore I will, 
in return, do for such a Father, who has so abundantly bestow- 
ed upon me His rich blessings, whatever is pleasing to Him, 
and likewise become a Christian to my neighbour as Christ 
has become a friend to me, and do nothing further than what 
I find to be necessary, useful, and beneficial to him; since 
through my faith, I at any rate, have sufficient of all things in 
Christ. Behold, thus from faith there flows joyous love to 
God, and from love a free, willing, joyful life, gratuitously to 
serve our neighbour.' " 

He then points out, from several examples, how good works 
are to be performed, and what judgment is consequently to be 
passed upon the innumerable commandments and statutes of 
the pope, the bishops, &c, and finally draws this conclusion : 
" From all this it follows, that a Christian lives not to himself 
but to Christ and his neighbour ; to Christ through faith, to his 
neighbour through love. Through faith he rises upwards to 
God ; from God, he again, through love, descends, and yet 
always abides in God and divine love. . . . Behold, this is 
true, spiritual, Christian freedom, which delivers the heart 
from all sin, statutes, and commandments, and which surpasses 



166 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



all other freedom as heaven surpasses the earth. Which may 
God enable us rightly to understand and to preserve. Amen."" 

Authorities. — Let., No. 181, 197, 128. Commentary on the 
Epistle to the Galatians, W. W., vol. 10, p. 451. Seckend. comm., p, 
187, sq. Let., No. 200. Seckend., p. 93. The Ratio confitendi in 
German, W. W., vol. 17, p. 502. Let., 214, 218. The Sermon on 
Good Works, W. W., vol. 17, p. 392. The "Brief direction for con- 
templating the Ten Commandments," &c, vol. 22, p. 29. The 
"Treatise on the Freedom of a Christian," vol. 17, p. 382, Coma. 
Let., No. 264. 

Note. — 1.) The German translation with a preface by Bugenha- 
gen, appeared in the year 1525. This first explanation of the Epistle 
to the Galatians, is to be distinguished from the more comprehen- 
sive work, which made its appearance in 1535. 

CHAPTER XI. 

THE LAST ATTEMPT AT RECONCILIATION WITH THE POPE, 

Charles von Miltitz, who well perceived and had remarked to- 
others, that he had not accomplished anything with the de- 
livery of the consecrated rose, but yet was anxious on his own 
account to effect something, applied to a convention of the Au- 
gustines, held at Eisleben, in the month of August, 1520, at 
w r hich Staupitz resigned his office, and requested their advice 
as to how Luther could be caused to observe silence. The 
latter are said to have replied, that they had no concern with 
Luther, and could give no advice ; Miltitz, notwithstanding, 
prevailed upon Staupitz and the newly-elected vicar Wenzel, 
to proceed to Luther with a letter, and to request him, by all 
means, to write a private letter to the pope, assuring him that 
it had never been his intention to undertake anything against 
his person. 

At first Luther thought that he could very easily do that, 
and that it was also the truth; on his hearing, however, that 
Eck had arrived at Leipzig with the bull of excommunication 
against him, and was giving utterance to shocking threats, he 
declared there would be nothing done towards it now. Miltitz, 
nevertheless, although he had met Dr. Eck at Leipzig, and 
received from him an accredited copy of the bull, still enter- 
tained hopes of compromising the matter. He represented to 



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Eck that he had acted improperly in publishing the bull, as 
long as the cause was yet awaiting an amicable adjustment, 
and that he should have written to him before. He now di- 
rected Luther to meet him at Lichtenburg, with the view to 
induce him to execute his promise, and to write to the pope ; 
that the bull would not take effect before 120 days ; in that 
time he would be at Rome and obtain another breve, by which 
the bull would be nullified or modified. Luther, upon this, being 
accompanied by Philip Melanchthon, a brother of his order, a 
nobleman and four horsemen, came to Lichtenburg on the 12th 
of October, and shortly afterwards Charles von Miltitz likewise 
arrived. Having now most amicably consulted upon the 
subject, they at length agreed together, that Luther should 
dedicate to the pope some small treatise or other, preceding 
it by a letter in German and Latin, giving a statement of his 
matter, how he had never harboured the design of assailing 
the pope's person, and how all the censure attached to Dr. 
Eck. This writing was to appear within twelve days, and to 
bear the date of the 6th of September, ten days after the con- 
vention at Eisleben, by which he had been besought to write 
to the pope, lest any one should say, that Eck, with his parti- 
zans, had, through the publication of the bull on the 21st of 
September, constrained him to write thus. 

Miltitz was in hopes the matter would yet have a favourable 
termination ; they would meet Eck and his partizans in a way 
they had not anticipated ; for that his papal holiness would be 
well satisfied to have cause for limiting, the excommunication 
together with the bull. Luther, however, thought : " If it 
succeeds, as we hope, it is well ; if it does not succeed, it is 
well too, because it so has pleased God." 

He meanwhile did, as he had promised, and dedicated to the 
pope the little book : " Concerning the Freedom of a Chris- 
tian," (See above, ch. 10.) In the writing prefixed to this, and 
dated on the 6th September, he says : 

"Although by several of thy unchristian sycophants the 
necessity has been imposed upon me to appeal from thy See 
and decision, in my case, to a free Christian council, yet have 
my affections never been so estranged from thee, as not al- 
ways, from all my heart, to have wished thee and thy Roman 
See the highest prosperity, and in diligent, earnest prayer, to 
have interceded for it with God." — He says further : " That he 
had so far despised those who had sought to menace him with 



168 THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 

the eminence and greatness of the papal name, but this he 
would not despise that he was represented as not having 
spared even the person of the pope. That he was not conscious 
of anything else, but that as often as he had referred to the 
person of the pope, he had spoken of him in the most respect- 
ful and becoming terms ; and if he should not have done so, 
he would not praise it himself, and would do nothing more 
gladly, than speak the reverse of such malice and wickedness, 
and retract his censurable language. That he had called him 
a Daniel in Babylon ; his good life also was too well known 
everywhere, than that it could be assailed by any one. That 
he would not speak disparagingly of him, whom everybody 
was praising ; since it was not at all his manner to assail even 
those who were in bad repute with every one, — for the sins 
of others afforded him no pleasure, as he well knew that he 
too had a beam in his own eye. That he had indeed written 
sharply against a number of unchristian doctrines, and been 
severe towards his adversaries, not because of their wicked 
lives, but because of their unchristian doctrines ; of this, how- 
ever, he did not at all repent, nor would he refrain from it, as 
he had Christ's, St. Paul's, and the prophets' example to guide 
him here. The ears of men had only at the present time, 
through the host of unchristian sycophants, become so delicate, 
and men did not know how otherwise to maintain their ground 
against the truth, but by raising the cry of severity, intole- 
rance, and rudeness. But of what profit is salt, if it does not 
bite sharply ; or the edge of the sword, if it be not keen and 
cutting ? Does not the prophet say, ' Cursed be he that doeth 
the work of the Lord deceitfully, and that keepeth back his sword 
from blood?' (Jer. xlviii. 10.) 

44 Therefore," continues he, " I pray thee, holy father Leo, to 
accept this my apology, and to be firmly assured, that I have 
never undertaken anything evil against thy person, but have 
sincerely wished thee all that is good, and that I do not either 
desire to live at variance with any one on account of his evil 
life, but contend only for the truth of the Divine Word. I shall 
willingly, in all things, yield to every one, only God's Word I 
shall not, and cannot either forsake or deny. If any one en- 
tertains a different opinion of me, or has understood my 
writings differently, he errs, and does not understand me 
rightly. 

" This is indeed true, I have briskly assailed the Roman See, 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



169 



which is called the Roman court, and of which neither thou 
thyself, nor any person on earth, can otherwise declare, than 
that it is worse and more abominable than any Sodom, Go- 
morrah, or Babylon ever was. And, as far as I can perceive, 

there is no longer any remedy for its wickedness." " For 

that thou thyself well knowest, how now, for many years, 
nothing but destruction of body, soul, and property, and the 
most pernicious examples of all that is evil, have proceeded 
from Rome, and swept like a -desolating flood over the world ; 
all which is manifest and public, and known to everybody ; 
and thus the Roman Church, which in times past was the 
most holy, has now become a den of murder above all dens 
of murder; a bawdy-house above all bawdy-houses ; a chief 
city and realm of all sin, of death and perdition ; so that it 
cannot well be conceived, what greater wickedness could yet 
be perpetrated, even if Antichrist himself should come. 

" Thou, holy father Leo, meanwhile dwellest like a sheep 
among wolves, (Matt. x. 16,) and like Daniel among lions, 
(Dan. vi. 16-23,) and with Ezekiel among scorpions, (Ezek. ii. 
6). What canst thou singly and alone accomplish against so 
many raving monsters ? And even though three or four 
learned and pious cardinals should side with thee, of what 
avail would it be among such a multitude ? For you would 
be removed by poison, before you could attempt to remedy the 
evil. The Roman See has seen the day of its glory, — the un- 
appeasable wrath of God has overtaken it." " It is in- 
deed properly a work which devolves upon thee and the car- 
dinals to check the progress of these evils ; but the disease 
mocks at the remedy, horse and chariot heed not the driver. 
This is the reason, thou pious Leo, why it has always grieved 
me, that thou hast become pope in these times, who wouldest 
deserve to be pope in better times. The Roman See is not 
worthy of thee, or men like thee : but the evil spirit ought to 
be pope, who certainty too rules more in that Babylon than 
thou dost. O, would to God that, being delivered from the 
honour, (as they, that is, thy most pernicious foes, call it,) thou 
mightest maintain thyself from some prebend, or from thy pa- 
ternal inheritance ! Surely, such honour should be conferred 
upon no one, except Judas Iscariot, or such like him, whom God 
has cast off." 

" Behold here, my father," — says he, somewhat further on, — 
" the cause and the reason why I have so severely assailed this 



170 , THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



pestilential see : for so far have I been from all assaults on thy 
person, that I had even hoped to gain favour and thanks with 
thee, and to be considered as promoting thy best interests, if I 
merely fearlessly and sharply attacked this prison, or, rather, 
this hell of thine." .... * . " Those, certainly, who injure this 
court in every way they can, perform a work which thou thy- 
self oughtest to perform ; they all honour Christ, who do most 
to bring such court into disgrace. In short, they are all good 
Christians who are bad Romanists." 

" It would yet," continues he then, " never have entered into 
his heart, to create any excitement against the Roman court ; 
but he would, in view of the remediless condition of things 
there, have devoted himself to the noiseless and quiet study 
of the Holy Scriptures, if the senseless ambition of Eck had 
not drawn him into the discussion. The latter," adds he, after 
giving a statement of things thus far, " is the enemy both of 
thyself and of the Roman See : From his single example every 
one may learn that there is no more dangerous enemy than a 
sycophant. What else has resulted from his sycophancy, but 
such mischief as no king has been able to occasion ? The 
name of the Roman court has now a bad odour all over the 
world ; the papal ban is powerless, and Roman ignorance is 
much decried ; all which would not have been the case, if Eck 
had not meddled with Charles (von Miltitz's) and my propo- 
sition of peace." 

Having now stated how, through Miltitz and the fathers of 
his order, he had been induced to honour the pope's person, 
and in a submissive writing to vindicate the innocence of the 
same, as well as his own, how delightful too and joyful this 
message had been to him, and how willingly he had complied 
with its requisitions, he thus addresses the pope : 

" Therefore, now I come, holy father Leo, and, casting my- 
self at thy feet, pray thee, if possible, to exercise thy authority, 
and to put a check upon these sycophants, who are the ene- 
mies of peace, although they pretend peace. But that I should 
retract my doctrines, needs not be expected ; and no one needs 
insist upon it either, unless he desires to make the matter only 
the more perplexing and intricate. Nor can I endure rules and 
measures in explaining the Scriptures, because the Word of 
God, which teaches all freedom, is not and dares not be made 
captive. If these two things are granted me, then nothing at 
all can be imposed upon me, which I shall not most willingly 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



ttl 



perform and suffer. I abhor strife, and have no wish to excite 
or to provoke any one ; nor do I wish to be provoked. If, how- 
ever I am provoked, I do not wish to be prevented from speak- 
ing or writing. Thy holiness may easily, by a few short words, 
assume this whole quarrel to itself, and make an end of it, at 
the sanfe time enjoining silence and peace, which I have al- 
ways been most desirous to see. 

" Therefore, my holy father, I beseech thee, not to listen to 
those who deceitfully flatter thee, and say that thou art not a 
mere man, but in part God, and hast power to command and 
to demand all things. It will prove false ; and thou wilt fail 
in thy endeavours. Thou art a servant of all the servants of 
God, and in a more perilous and wretched station than any 
man on earth. Let not those deceive thee, who hypocritically 
and falsely represent to thee, that thou art lord of the world, 
and who will admit no one to be a Christian, unless he be sub- 
ject unto thee ; prating, as they do, that thy power extends to 
heaven, to hell and into purgatory. They are thy enemies and 
seek the destruction of thy soul. As Isaiah says: (ch. iii. 12 ; 
ch. ix. 16,) * Oh my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err? 
They all err, who say, that thou art above the Councils and 
collected Christendom. They err, who ascribe the power to 
interpret the Scriptures to thee alone. They one and all seek 
nothing else, but how they may, under the cover of thy name, 
promote their unchristian projects in the Church ; as the evil 
spirit, alas, has also done through many of thy predecessors. 
Do not, in short, believe any one that exalts thee, but only 
those that humble thee ; that is the judgment of God, as is 
written : He hath put down the mighty from their seats and 
exalted them of low degree. (Luke i. 52.) 

" Behold how unequal are Christ and his vicegerents, yet 
they wish all to be his vicegerents, and indeed I fear, they are 
only too much his vicegerents. For a vicegerent is vicegerent 
in the absence of his lord ; if therefore a Pope rules in the ab- 
sence of Christ, who does not dwell in his heart, is he not then 
too truly Christ's vicegerent ? But what can such a multitude 
be, but an assembly without Christ ? And what now can such 
a pope be, but an Anti-Christ and false god ? How much 
better was the course which the Apostles pursued, who called 
themselves and caused themselves to be called nothing but 
servants of Christ, dwelling in him, and not vicegerents of the 
absent Christ ! 



172 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



" Perhaps it is insolent in me, that I presume to give instruc- 
tion to a personage in so elevated a station, by whom every 
one is to be instructed, and from whom, as some of thy venom- 
ous sycophants assert, all kings and judges are to receive de- 
cisions. But in this I imitate St. Bernard in his book to Pope 
Eugenius, which all popes ought in truth to have impressed 
upon their memory. It is not from the presumption of becom- 
ing thy teacher, that I speak as I do, but from sincere faithful 
anxiety and duty, which justly constrain every one to be con- 
cerned for his neighbour, even in those things which are harm- 
less, and do not permit us to have regard to dignity or want of 
dignity, so very diligent do they cause us to be in attending to 
our neighbours' perils and prosperity. As I therefore know, 
how thy holiness lives at Rome, namely, as upon the deepest 
sea, tossed about by innumerable dangers raging on all .sides, 
living and labouring amidst such distresses, that thou well hast 
need of the aid even of the most humble Christian ; I did not 
consider it improper, so long to forget thy majesty, till I had 
discharged the duty of brotherly love. I have no wish to 
flatter in a matter so serious and perilous, in which, if some 
will not understand, how I am thy friend and more than sub- 
ject, those will not be wanting, who will understand it." 

In the last place, he refers to the book w T hich he dedicated to 
the pope, and concludes : " It is a small, insignificant little 
book, if the paper is considered ; but yet the whole sum of 
what a Christian life should be, is contained in it, if the sense 
is regarded. I am poor and have nothing else, with which to 
serve thee ; neither hast thou any need of aid but in spiritual 
matters. And herewith I commend m} T self to thy holiness, 
which may Jesus Christ ever bless. Amen." 

Authorities. — Letters, No. 255, 257, 260. Letter of Miltitz to the 
elector and that of Wolfgang von Reischenbusch to Fab. Peilitsch, in 
Cyprian's Urkunden, vol. 1, p. 436 and 447. Letters, No. 263. 264. 

CHAPTER XII. 

THE PAPAL BULL AND THE BURNING OF IT. 

Several days previous to Luther's writing the letter to the 
Pope, the Treatise " De Captivitate Babylonica Ecclesiae," or 
" Concerning the Babylonian Captivity of the Church," had al- 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



173 



ready made its appearance, in which he assailed " the tyranny 
of Rome " more unsparingly than ever. At the very outset he 
remarks, that his adversaries were making him daily more 
learned. That two years previous he had written hesitating- 
ly concerning indulgences ; now he knew that they were no- 
thing but a fraud of the Roman sycophants, by means of which 
they were destroying faith in God and depriving the people of 
their money. That before he had denied only the Divine right 
of the Papacy, and admitted the human right ; now he knew, 
that the Papacy was the realm of Babylon, and the power of 
Nimrod, the mighty hunter. So now, he was, once more 
through the writing of a monk of Cremona and of the Leipzig 
Franciscan, (Alveld, see ch. 9, p. 134,) driven to the necessity 
of taking up the doctrine on the Sacrament. And here he was, 
constrained in the first place to deny, that there were seven 
sacraments ; that he could now receive only three, baptism, 
repentance, 1 and the bread, (that is, the Lord's Supper,) and 
that all these had been brought into wretched captivity by the 
Roman court, and the Church had been robbed of all its freedom. 

In reference to the Lord's Supper, he enumerated three cap- 
tivities of this Sacrament, namely, the refusal of the cup to the 
laity, the doctrine of transubstantiation, and the regarding of 
it by all as a good work and sacrifice. That, in order to ob- 
tain a true and pure knowledge of this Sacrament, it was ne- 
cessary to set aside everything, that human devotion and fancy 
had added to the original and simple institution of the same. 

In regard to the Sacrament of Baptism, he praised God, that 
He had, in the richness of His mercy, preserved to His Church 
this one Sacrament, against defilement and corruption from 
human tradition ; he lamented, however, that the efficacy and 
grandeur of this Sacrament were so little regarded, and as- 
cribed the cause of this, in particular, to the innumerable 
vows, which ought also either to be wholly abolished or 
avoided. 

Concerning the Sacrament of Penance he says, that, in it, the 
avarice of the shepherds had shockingly raged against the sheep 
of Christ. That they had, in reality, abolished the whole sa- 
crament, since they had employed the word of promise, by 
which faith was to be excited, merely in support of their ty- 
ranny, and had declared faith to be unnecessary. That they 
had instead of the promise and faith, substituted three things, 
viz., penitence, confession and satisfaction. Penitence, instead 



174 



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of making it a work of faith, they had made a work of merit ; 
and some, still more presumptuous, had invented a half-way- 
penitence or an attrition ; Confession, useful and necessary in 
itself, had been made to subserve the tyranny and extortion of 
the popes, who had reserved to themselves the power to grant 
absolution in particular cases ; concerning satisfaction, finally, 
such a manner of teaching had been observed, that the people 
never could understand true satisfaction, which is a renewing 
of life, and that the consciences of men had been sadly torment- 
ed with doubts, they having conceived the idea, that they were 
required with their works to render satisfaction for their sins. 

" Concerning Confirmation" he said, " we nowhere find, that 
Christ had made any promise, although he laid his hands upon 
many ; therefore it is sufficient, that we regard it as a custom 
of the Church, or a sacramental ceremony, like other ceremo- 
nies, which because they have not God's promise, cannot be 
called sacraments." 

f Matrimony," he continued, " is regarded as a sacrament, 
without any scriptural authority whatever ; the grace of God 
is not obtained through it, neither has it been instituted by 
God, that it should signify anything. Neither can it be called 
a sacrament of the new covenant, since it has existed from the 
beginning of the world, and is observed even among unbe- 
lievers." 

He then demonstrated, that the text, Ephes. v. 31, is falsely 
adduced here, from a want of acquaintance with the Greek 
language, and that marriage, according to this passage, was 
only a figure and image of Christ and the Church, but not a 
sacrament; he, moreover, expressed his indignation at the 
ungodly statutes of men. through which this mode of life, in- 
stituted by God, had been confusedly and intricately repre- 
sented ; especially did he rail against the numerous invented 
obstacles to marriage, and against the arbitrary procedure in 
divorcing and forbidding second marriages. 

Concerning Holy Orders, he likewise said, that they were no 
sacrament, but an observance of the Church ; that the Church, 
however, had no power to institute new divine promises of 
grace ; that from this had arisen the shameful tyranny of the 
clergy, that they deemed themselves better on account of the 
bodily anointing : Christian fellowship had, in consequence, 
wholly ceased ; the shepherds had become wolves, the servants 
tyrants, and the clergy worldlings. 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



175 



He finally came to the sacrament of Extreme Unction, which 
it is attempted to establish from James v. 14, 15, in opposition 
to which he said, that it did not behoove the apostles 2 arbitra- 
rily to institute a sacrament, that is, to give the promises of 
God with an accompanying sign, since this belonged only to 
Christ ; that in the Gospels, however, there was nothing to be 
found in reference to it. But that if it was to be observed, 
why did they not observe it according to the prescription of 
the apostle, instead of making of it an anointing, ordinarily 
observed with the sick; by which, through the prayer of faith, 
they might recover,- — a last anointing for the dying ? 

Luther having now, towards the close, explained what pro- 
perly constituted a sacrament, concluded with these words: 
"I learn, too, that there have been newly fabricated against 
me, bulls and papal persecutions, which are either to compel 
me to retract, or to declare me a heretic. In case this is true, 
I wish this little book to be a part of my future recantation, 
that they may not in vain lament their vaunting tyranny. I 
shall shortly too, with the help of Christ, write a recantation 
such as the See of Rome has never either seen or heard, and 
shall thus sufficiently testify my obedience, in the name of my 
Lord Jesus Christ. Amen." 

After the publication of this severe writing, which was soon 
also prohibited, anything like reconciliation with the pope 
could, of course, scarcely be expected ; the bull of excommuni- 
cation against Luther, and Eck's deportment on delivering it, 
finally ruined everything. It was reported already in August, 
(1520,) that Eck, bearing with him the bull, had arrived at 
Meissen: Luther, however, was at that time yet unwilling to 
credit it. In September he actually made his appearance : on 
the 21st it was posted up at Meissen, on the 25th at Merse- 
burg, and on the 29th at Brandenburg. In the beginning of 
October, Eck was at Leipzig, boasting to Miltitz that he would 
now soon teach Luther, and making a great parade with his 
bull. Duke George wrote to the council, commanding them 
to make him a present of a gilded chalice filled with florins ; 
he was, however, notwithstanding this, poorly received at 
Leipzig, and in many places there Was posted up against him 
a placard, in which he was derided and menaced, so that he 
was under the necessity of taking refuge in the cloister of St. 
Paul, and of concealing himself from the view of the public. 
To the rector of the university of Wittenberg, (Burkard), Eck, 



176 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



on the third of October, transmitted the bull, with threatening 
injunctions ; he, however, did not publish it, because it had 
not been delivered to him in proper form. At Wittenberg, 
they deemed it best to wait and see if the matter would not 
perhaps in the mean time take a different direction; but in- 
formation being afterwards received, in the beginning of the 
year 1521, that the bishop of Brandenburg intended, when he 
would pass through Wittenberg, (on his way to Worms,) in 
company with the elector of Brandenburg and duke Albrecht 
of Mecklenburg, to have the bull posted up and published, 
John von Taubenheim concerted plans with the mayor to pre- 
vent it, even if it should be necessary to proceed from words 
to actions. At Zeitz, Erfurt, and Bamberg, the bull was not 
published at all, it being objected, that it had not been trans- 
mitted in due form. At Erfurt, copies of the bull, printed and 
offered for sale there, were torn in pieces and thrown into the 
river by the students, amidst the exclamation: "Now it is 
indeed a true 'bulla/ (that is, bubble). By others, on the 
other hand, as, for instance, by the bishop of Eichstadt and 
the bishop of Freisingen, its publication was strictly en- 
forced. 3 

The bull was dated the fourth of June, 1520. After the 
pope had in it called upon the Lord Christ, the apostles Peter 
and Paul, for aid, and lamented, that in the highly-renowned 
German nation such heresy had arisen ; he sets down forty-one 
theses, which he rejected and condemned as erroneous, and 
which, under threats of repeated excommunication, he forbade 
all the clergy and the seculars, the princes and their subjects, 
to confess or to defend. The books of Luther containing these 
errors he prohibited : no one should read, possess, or sell them ; 
they were everywhere to be searched up, and to be publicly 
and solemnly burnt. As to Martin himself, the bull provided, 
that nothing had been left undone which could induce him to 
forsake his errors, but that he disobediently had despised the 
citation and everything else, wickedly appealing to a future 
council. That he could justly, without further delay, be dealt 
with as a heretic ; but that, nevertheless, the course of mercy 
would be followed, and that he and his adherents were ac- 
cordingly entreated and exhorted, for the sake of the blood 
of Christ, no longer to disturb the peace of the Church, and to 
desist from their errors. That Martin should, in the mean 
time, refrain from all preaching, and, within sixty days, retract 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY* 177 

all and each of his errors, or, within sixty days more, to com- 
municate such recantation to the pope, in a written and legally 
authorized form. That if he, his adherents and patrons, did 
not do this, they should, as withered branches, which could 
not remain in Christ, and, as manifest and perverse heretics, 
be condemned. That all Martin's writings, even those in 
which the errors mentioned are not contained, or which he 
might yet publish, should, as emanating from an enemy of the 
Christian faith, be forbidden to be read or sold, yea, they should 
be committed to the flames, that his memory might be wholly 
exterminated from among the society of Christians. That no one 
should have any intercourse- with him or his adherents. All the 
clergy and the seculars in the whole world, especially in the 
German dominions, were commanded under pain of every pen- 
alty, to seize the persons of Martin and his adherents, and to 
deliver them to the pope, for which good work the Roman See 
promised them a becoming reward. Martin and his parti- 
zans were, at the least, everywhere to be expelled, and every 
place whither they might betake themselves should, as long 
as they remain there, and for three days after their departure, 
be placed under the interdict. Under pain of excommunica- 
tion, they were everywhere in the churches publicly to be 
proclaimed as being declared and condemned heretics ; and 
the bull of excommunication, or an accredited copy thereof, 
was to be posted up and published. 

It was in the early part of October that Luther first obtained 
a copy of this bull. Although he regarded it as genuine, he 
still at first wished to omit the name of the pope in the game, 
and to treat the bull as an invention of Eck. He accordingly 
wrote the pamphlet: Concerning the new Eckian bulls and 
falsehoods, in which he pointed out the falsity and craftiness 
of Eck's accusations, and then spoke of the bull itself, of which 
he said, that he could not regard it as genuine, because his 
appeal to a council had never been withdrawn ; because his 
matter had, at the instance of Miltitz and with the consent 
of his elector, been submitted for examination to the archbishop 
of Treves ; because he could not believe either, that the pope 
would have commissioned his ferocious enemy, Dr. Eck, who 
was a party in the case, to deliver the bull ; and because, in 
general, he would not believe any bull, unless he saw the 
original, since he well knew of what falsifications the Roman 
knaves could be guilty. 

12 



178 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



He was of good courage meanwhile, and replied to Duke 
Frederick of Saxony, who had caused a gracious letter to be 
despatched to him, that be had not been in the least terrified 
at the bulls, and would none the less continue to preach, to 
lecture, and to write, although Duke George and the bishop 
of Merseburg were so greatly enraged against him as not to 
omit anything which might exile him from Wittenberg. He 
rejoiced that his friend Spalatin at last perceived, that it was 
not in princes in whom we must trust, " for" — he wrote — " if 
the Gospel were of such a nature, that it could be spread and 
maintained by the great men of the world, God would not 
have entrusted it to fishermen." On that account he did not 
feel inclined either, in private communications, to apply to the 
princes, but contented himself with renewing his appeal to a 
council. (Compare part 3, ch. 6.) At the same time, how- 
ever, there appeared (in November) in German and Latin, 
the writing: " Adversus execrabilem Antichristi bullam ; or, 
Against the bull of Antichrist. In the beginning of it Luther 
stated how his opponents, the defenders of indulgences, on 
perceiving that their false doctrines were sustained neither by 
Scripture nor reason, had, as was their manner and custom, 
resorted to papal intrigue and violence, condemning him and 
his books without a refutation and without stating reasons, 
decrying them as heretical, prohibiting and condemning them, 
which indeed was an easy matter, and could be performed by 
children too. That he could conscientiously declare, that 
nothing would rejoice him more than to see the destruction 
of all his books, which he had published only for the purpose 
of, through them, warning the people against such errors, and 
drawing them to the Bible. That, if there were only a right 
understanding of the Scriptures, his books signified nothing ; 
and if the condemning of them did injury only to himself, he 
would willingly observe silence. But because Christ says : 
He that confesseth me before men, &c, because, moreover, he 
was in duty bound to promote the salvation of his neighbour, 
and because he was convinced that the pope and his adherents 
had, without reason or cause, from mere ignorance and error, 
opposed the truths of Christianity ; he could not and durst not 
keep silence, permit the truth to be reviled, and souls to be 
seduced, befall him what might. " Therefore," said he, " I will 
have every one know that I herewith offer him my humble 
Christian services, as far as behooves me, faithfully to admon- 



THE TIME OP THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



179 



ish him, that he may forget me, and attend to the interests 
of his own soul, and with all diligence be on his guard, that 
his papal wickedness 4 do not drive him from the truth, by his 
and his partizans' highly-menacing, inflated and feigned words 
in the bull, which they say has lately arrived from Rome, 
against Dr. Luther. Every one is to know that he does me no 
service, if he despises the nefarious, heretical and lying bull, 
and that he will occasion me no chagrin either, if he highly 
esteems it. Through the grace, of God I am free, need not 
and will not console myself with any of these things, or be 
terrified by them. I know well who is my consolation and 
defence : He will stand by me against men and devils. I shall 
discharge my duty; everyone shall, at his death and at the 
last day, answer for himself, and then well appreciate my 
faithful warning. But that none may prefer the excuse that 
he did not know what that impiety and those errors were 
against which he was to be on his guard, I shall enumerate 
the articles condemned in the bull, and in the first place point 
out the blindness and malice of the Roman knaves." 

He now, first of all, exposed the ambiguity of the bull, which 
indicated : that some articles were heretical, some erroneous, 
some perplexing, some seductive, some intolerable to Christian 
ears, whilst it did not state, which, in order thus to condemn 
all at once. He said further : That no one might doubt, but 
that the evil spirit had dictated the bull, it was expressly de- 
clared in it, that even those books were to be condemned and 
burnt, which contained no error. That it had never yet been 
heard of in Christendom, that Christians had been publicly 
commanded to deny the truth, to condemn and to commit it to 
the flames. He finally took up the bull itself and reviewed 
the first twelve articles, which were condemned in it, justified 
them briefly, and concluded : 

" Therefore I will herewith have every one put on his guard 
and admonished, that he may beware of such devils, and will 
give a sign, namely this : If the pope does not revoke and con- 
demn this bull and rebuke Dr. Eck and his clique, as the ex- 
ecutors of such bull ; then no one is to doubt but that the pope 
is the enemy of God, the persecutor of Christ, the destroyer of 
his Church, and the true Anti-Christ. For thus far it has never 
yet been heard of, that any one has condemned the plain, 
manifest Christian truth, as this hellish, accursed bull does." 

A detailed defence of the theses condemned in the bull, 



180 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



Luther soon afterwards published in the Latin and German 
writing : Assertio omnium articulorum per bullam Leonis X., 
novissimam damnatorum, or, Arguments in support of all the 
articles unjustly condemned by the Roman bull, which he dedi- 
cated to the Saxon knight, Fabian von Feilitzsch. 

Before this treatise was issued from the press, however, Lu- 
ther proceeded to something further^ in order to convince the 
Papists, that it required no great skill to burn books, which one 
cannot refute. On the tenth day of December, namely, all the 
students at Wittenberg, were, in a public notice posted up on 
the black-board before the lecture room, called upon to as- 
semble, with the information, that the anti-christian decretals 
would be burnt at nine o'clock in the forenoon. At the ap- 
pointed time, the students numerously assembled, in a place 
before the Elstergate, and situate behind the infirmary, when 
a respectable magister prepared a place for a fire, piled up the 
wood and kindled it. Whereupon Dr. Luther cast the anti- 
christian decretals, 5 together with the bull of Leo X., recently 
issued against him, into the fire, with these words : " Because 
thou hast grieved the holy ones of the Lord, may eternal fire 
grieve and consume thee." This being done, Dr. Luther again 
returned to the town, and many doctors, magisters and stu- 
dents with him. 

The following day, Dr. Luther, after the lecture on the 
Psalms, w'/i-jh he, in the year previous, in the month of March, 
had begun to explain in course, admonished all his hearers to 
be on their guard against the laws and statutes of the pope, 
The burning of the decretals had been mere child's play, that 
it was high time, however, that the pope, namely, the Roman 
See, together with all its doctrines and abominations, were con- 
sumed in the flames. Further, he said, with great earnestness, 
" If you do not, with all your heart, oppose the wicked govern- 
ment of the pope, you cannot be saved. For the kingdom of the 
pope, is so utterly opposed to the kingdom of Christ and to 
Christian life, that it would be better and more safe to live in 
a wilderness, without any human being near, than in and un- 
der the kingdom of Anti-Christ. Therefore every Christian is 
to be very careful, as he loves his soul's salvation, that he do 
not deny Christ, which certainly will be the case, if he sides 
with the Papists ; so that every one who approves of their re- 
ligion and false acts of worship, in the church, as they are at 
present observed under the Papacy, and who does not bear 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



181 



testimony against their strong delusions, must be forever lost 
in the life to come. But if he does bear testimony, he assured- 
ly jeopards body and life. I shall rather, however, incur all 
manner of perils in this world, than charge my conscience with 
keeping silence, for which I would have to render an account 
to God. As 1 therefore have, for some time past, with my 
whole heart, resisted the raving monster at Rome, I consider 
the Babylonian plague and pestilence, an abomination, and 
shall, also, as long as I live, point this out to my brethren and 
warn them. If withal I cannot prevent the appalling ruin and 
destruction of innumerable souls, yet some among us can be 
rescued, so that they be not cast into the abyss of hell along 
with the rest Others may do in this matter, what they choose, 
but it is time that we attend seriously to the business and reform. 

He, at the same time, issued a writing under the title : 
** Why the books of the Pope and his disciples have been burnt? 
Let any one, who chooses, likewise show why they have burnt Dr. 
Luther's books." He, in it, publicly declares what he had done, 
and gives as a reason, in the first place, that it was an ancient 
custom to burn corrupt and nefarious books 4 that he, in the 
second place, as a baptized Christian and a sworn doctor of 
the Holy Scriptures, was required to resist erroneous doctrines ; 
that, in the third place, the pope and the papal impostors were 
hardened to such a degree, that they would receive no instruc- 
tion, but blindly condemned the doctrines of the Gospel ; that 
he, in the fourth place, did not believe his adversaries had au- 
thority from Pope Leo X., for what they did, as far his person 
was concerned, and that he trusted the pope himself did not 
approve of the books burnt by him ; that, in the fifth place, 
since the adversaries, by their burning of books, were, to the 
great disparagement of the truth, exciting false notions in the 
common people, he had, at the bidding of the Spirit, as he 
hoped, committed those books to the flames. No one should 
permit the high-sounding titles of the consumed books, or the 
long use made of them, to impose upon him, but should first 
examine and see, what the pope had taught in these books, and 
what shocking doctrines were contained in the canon law. He 
then extracted thirty theses from the canon law and the papal 
books, as : 1. The pope and his See are not bound to be sub- 
ject to the laws of God or to obey them. 2. It is not a com- 
mand, but an advice of St. Peter's, when he teaches that all 
Christians are to be subject to kings. 3. The sun signifies the 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMOITY. 



papal, the moon the temporal power in Christendom. 4. The 
pope and his See are not bound to be subject to Christian 
councils and regulations. 5. The pope has, in his heart, full 
power over all law, &c. That, in short, the sum total of the 
canon law was : " The pope is a god upon earth, above all that 
is heavenly, earthly, spiritual or temporal. For that no one 
dared say, What doest thou ? " That no one had scarcely thus 
far been suffered to expose such abominations, the pope having 
threatened to burn all who would resist him. That the pope 
had never yet refuted any one from the Scriptures or from 
reason, but had crushed all by a resort to violence or treachery, 
persecution, exile, and death | and had even resisted all inter- 
ference of justice and judgment, pretending that he was above 
all Scripture, judgment and authority. But that truth and jus- 
tice did not shun judgment. That he, Luther, was prepared 
in all this to abide the decisions of justice before any one. 

Authorities. — The writing concerning the Babylonian captivity. 
W. W., vol. 17, p. 511. Let., No. 265, 249. Cypr. Urk., vol 1, p. 
436, Comp. Let., No. 260. W. W., vol. 17, p. 316. Cypr., vol 1, p. 
474 and 495. Let., 268, 262> Writing concerning the new Eckian 
bulls, &c. W. W., vol. 17, p. 318. Let., 266, 268. The writing 
against the bulls of Anti-Christ, VV. W., vol. 17, p. 324, and the writing : 
Arguments in support, &c, ibid., p. 338. Let., No. 2, 75. W. W., 
vol. 17, p. 332. The writing : Why the books of the pope and his 
disciples, &c, ibid., p. 333. 

Notes — 1.) Further on (vol. 17, p. 558,) Luther says : That strictly 
speaking, repentance is not to be considered a sacrament. 

2.) In this passage is already expressed Luther's known want of re- 
gard for the Epistle of St. James. (In which he is not followed by the 
Ev. Luth. Church.) 

«8.) The administrator of the bishopric of Naumburg, the chancellor, 
Dr. Henry Schmidtberg, on the other hand, willed one hundred florins to 
Luther. The latter was sent for by him to come to Eilenburg, where 
he lay sick ; but on Luther's arriving, he had already expired, firmly be- 
lieving in Christ and confessing the doctrines of the Gospel. Luther was 
rejoiced, not so much at the present, as at the case itself, which he con- 
sidered a sign of the times against Eck and his patrons. Let., No. 269 
Comp. No. 283, and Lingke, Reisegeschichte L.'s, p. 76, sq. 

4. ) Thus Luther writes ironically, instead ofthe customary title : "His 
papal holiness." 

5. ) Some other books too, for instance the Summa Angelica and writ- 
ings of Eck and Emser were burnt along with the rest. 

N. B. In this chapter, the negotiations, which were held between the 
papal legates and the elector, at Cologne, in Nov., 1520, as well as 
the expressions of Erasmus concerning Luther. W. W., vol. 17, p. 
376, and Spal. Anal. p. 28, should also have been noticed. 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



% 183 



CHAPTER XIII. 

CITATION AND JOURNEY TO WORMS. 

The papal nuncio had repeatedly requested the emperor to 
have Luther's books consigned to the flames, throughout the 
entire length and breadth of the holy Roman realm ; the elector 
of Saxony, on the other hand, had, through the counsellors 
of the emperor, duke William of Croy, margrave of Arschot, 
and Count Henry of Nassau, signified his wish to have no 
proceedings instituted against Luther, till he had first been 
heard. As the emperor, accordingly, " was anxious to have 
this matter, from which great confusion and error might arise, 
finally adjusted," he, in a letter, dated from Oppenheim, on the 
28th November, 1520, enjoined the elector to bring Luther 
with him to Worms, in order 6i there to have his affair investi- 
gated by learned and highly-intelligent men, and to see to it» 
that he would sustain no injury or any ill-treatment." The 
elector should, however, in order to prevent further offence, 
admonish Luther, in the mean time, not to write anything 
against his papal holiness. To this the elector replied from 
Alstadt, under date of the 20th December, that he had never 
presumed to defend Luther's writing or preaching : but as the 
latter had so frequently offered to submit to an investigation, 
he, the elector, had interceded for him with the emperor. But 
as now, since his taking leave of the emperor, Luther's books 
had, at Cologne, Mayence, and other places, without proper 
investigation or refutation from the Holy Scriptures, been com- 
mitted to the flames, (which he had not expected, and which 
probably had been done without permission from the emperor,) 
and because Luther might, perhaps, before the letter of the 
emperor had reached him, the elector, like wise have committed 
himself in opposition : the emperor was requested to excuse 
him from bringing Luther with him to the diet. The emperor 
himself had, meanwhile, changed his mind, and, under date 
of the 17th December, had, from Worms, despatched a letter 
to the elector, to this effect : That he had now received certain 
information of Luther's having incurred the severest excom- 
munication of the pope, and that all places in which he might 
make his stay, were to be placed under the interdict, as well 
as all who had any dealings with him to be excommunicated ; 



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the elector should therefore bring Luther with him, only on 
condition of his first retracting everything that he had written 
against his papal holiness, and of submitting himself to the 
pope's decision, even then, however, not to Worms, but only 
as far as Frankfort on the Maine, or some other piace, where 
he should await further directions. If Luther, however, refused 
to comply with this, the elector should permit him to remain 
at home till they had first verbally consulted upon the subject. 

When Luther was first questioned by Spalatin as to what he 
would do if the emperor should cite him to appear, he answered ; 
(the 21st Dec.) " If lam cited, I shall, as far as it depends upon me, 
have myself conveyed thither sick, if I cannot proceed in health; for 
I dare not doubt but that the Lord calls me, when the emperor 
calls. And then, if they have recourse to violence, as it is 
probable they will — for it is not for the purpose of informing 
me better, that they have me cited — we must commend the 
matter to God. He that preserved the three men in the fiery 
furnace of the king of Babylon, still liveth and ruleth. If he 
will not preserve my head, it signifies little, compared with 
Christ, who amidst such great reproach, to the offence of all, 
and the destruction of many, was put to death. For here we 
are not to have regard to the perils or the welfare of any one, 
but much rather to have care, that we do not yield up the 
Gospel to the derision of the ungodly, with which we have 
once begun, and thus give occasion to the adversaries to re- 
proach us, as if we did not venture to confess that which we 
have taught, and feared to lay down our lives for it. May 
Christ, in mercy, avert from us such reproach, and from them 
such boasting ! Amen." And further : " This one duty re- 
mains to us and is commanded us, namely, to pray the Lord, that 
the reign of the Emperor Charles may not, at the very outset, 
be stained in favour of wickedness, by the shedding of my 
blood, or that of any other person ; and I would rather, as I 
have often said, perish wholly by the hands of the Romanists, 
if only the emperor with his government do not become involv- 
ed in this matter. You know what misfortunes pursued the 
Emperor Sigismund after the murder of Huss, and how no- 
thing would prosper for him afterwards, &c. But yet, if it 
must be so, and 1 am to be delivered not only to the priests, but 
likewise to the heathens the Lord's will be done. Amen. 
Behold here you have my purpose and my mind. Expect 
everything from me, except flight or recantation : flee of my- 



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185 



self, I shall not, recant much less. In this may the Lord Jesus 
sustain me. For neither the one nor the other could I do, with- 
out detriment to godliness and the salvation of many." 

On his hearing that the emperor had again receded from his 
determination to have him come to Worms, he very much re- 
gretted it, and in a letter to the elector, under date of the 25th 
Januarj'-, 1521, once more offered, if the requisite security and 
safe conduct were given him, to appear at the diet, before just, 
learned, pious and unsuspected judges, and with the help of the 
Almighty, so to set forth his cause and to defend himself, that 
all should in truth perceive how he had thus far attempted and 
done nothing from an impious, froward, insubordinate disposi- 
tion, or for the sake of temporal, wordly honours and advan- 
tages, but in all had complied only with the requirements of 
his conscience, oath and obligations, endeavouring, as a poor 
teacher of the Holy Scriptures, to promote the glory of God, the 
salvation and happiness of Christians in general, the good of the 
German nation, the extirpation of dangerous abuses and super- 
stitions, and the delivery of all holy Christendom from so many 
fraudulent, innumerable, unchristian, damnable and tyrannical 
usurpations, oppressions and blasphemies. 

The papal adherents were not anxious to have Luther ap- 
pear before the diet, but wished to have him condemned with- 
out further process. The papal nuncio, Alexander, accordingly 
delivered a speech before the diet, in connection with which 
he produced the original of the bull of excommunication 
against Luther, because some had declared it a fabrication, 
and complained of the calumny, that the papal legates should 
have procured the burning of Luther's books by bribes. He 
then requested attention to several doctrines of Luther, which 
certainly deserved that a hundred thousand heretics should 
be burnt on account of them, since Huss and even WicklifFe 
were defended in them. That Luther was waging war against 
the subterranean and celestial spirits, was sinning against the 
whole body of the clergy, rejecting all monastic orders, and of- 
fending against the saints, the world, and the councils. That 
Luther was indeed reputed to be a pious man, but that Satan 
did under a good appearance deceive men, and if Luther were 
pious, he would not desire to be wiser than the Fathers and the 
Church. He then spoke against granting Luther a safe-con- 
duct and against having him heard. That he would not suffer 
himself to be instructed by any one, not even by an angel from 



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heaven. That having been cited by the pope, he had not 
appeared but had appealed to a council. That it did not be- 
hoove the matter to be brought before his imperial majesty, 
as laymen were not the proper judges in the case ; and that 
the clergy themselves durst not, without permission from the 
pope, enter into a disputation with heretics. That Luther, 
finally, would not admit the decision of the pope. That the 
object would therefore be, to prevent any further spread of 
the heresy ; that he accordingly prayed, in a public edict, to 
command, that Luther's books be burnt and not further sold. 

The emperor actually, too, gave command, that all the 
writings of Luther should be brought forward and delivered 
to the authorities ; but the estates of the realm represented in 
opposition, that there could not be much good expected from 
the publication of this edict, as Luther's doctrines were already 
spread over the whole extent of Germany, and that the evil 
could not be remedied, if he were not himself heard. They 
accordingly advised, that he should, under promise of safe 
conduct, be cited and interrogated, as to whether he were will- 
ing to retract the articles, which were opposed to the holy 
Christian faith, as received from the Fathers and so far main- 
tained. If he would not do so, the estates would in all ear- 
nestness sustain the emperor in the execution of the mandate. 
To this they added the prayer, that the abuses, through which 
great injury was inflicted upon the German provinces by the 
See of Rome, might be duly and properly reformed. This 
advice of the estates the emperor so far approved, that he 
resolved to cite Luther, and promised to consider the griev- 
ances against the court of Rome : only he desired to have 
these separately specified. 

Luther having, through Spalatin, been informed of these 
proceedings, and also of the articles which he was to retract, 
declared, in reply, that he would positively not retract any- 
thing, if they had no other ground but this, that what he had 
written was in opposition to the usages and customs of the 
Church (as his opponents, namely, understood it). He would 
answer the emperor, that he would not appear, if he were cited 
merely for the purpose of retracting. If, then, the emperor 
felt disposed a second time to cite him, in order to put him to 
death, he offered to appear ; for that, relying upon the help of 
Christ, he had no intention of fleeing or forsaking the Word in 
the midst of the contest. That he was fully assured, his blood- 



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187 



thirsty enemies would not rest, till they had destroyed him. 
To the elector, he replied to the several points, and concluded 
by saying, that his recantation would not be of any avail at 
this time, in which the Scriptures and the ancient teachers had 
again become known, and in which it was no longer asked, 
what was taught, but why this or that was taught. That for 
the Roman Church there would grow out of it nothing but 
public disgrace, since that, which she without authority taught 
and practiced, would not receive authority through his recan- 
tation. He could conscientiously say, that he would, regard- 
less of all honour, willingly recant, if only sufficient evidence 
of his error and of their truth were afforded him. 

Meanwhile, Luther was busily employed at home. In a 
letter to Conrad Pellicanus, who superintended the printing of 
his Latin writings at Basle, he excused himself with reference 
to some oversights in his Psalter, and says: "I am very busily 
employed — I preach twice every day, I labour at the Psalter, I 
am engaged upon posfillas, I reply to my adversaries, I con- 
tend against the bull in German and Latin, and defend my- 
self, not to mention the letters which I have to write to my 
friends, and the conversations which occur at home and else- 
where." 

During this time, there appeared the first part of the Postil, 
Enarrationes Epistolarum et Evangeliorum, (that is, Explana- 
tion of the Epistles and Gospels,) which he wrote at the in- 
stance of the elector. (See ch. 10, p. 153.) In the dedication 
to the elector, (of the 3d March,) he excused himself for not 
having complied with his advice, to refrain from writing con- 
troversial books, with which he had already wasted three 
years of his time, and to devote himself to holy and peaceful 
studies, since this, though he also had anxiously desired it, had 
not been possible. That he had always cherished the hope, 
he would some time or other be suffered to remain undisturbed, 
but that he perceived this to be a vain hope, and that Satan 
only strove in this way, wholly to draw him away from his 
object ; that he had therefore begun to give up all hope of 
peace, and now intended, in imitation of Nehemiah, to be 
ready for the work of peace and war at the same time, holding 
in one hand the sword, and with the other building up the 
wall." 

He, at this time, likewise published the German Exposition 
of the Magnificat, (or Hymn of Mary,) which he, under date of 



188 



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the 10th March, dedicated to the young duke, John Frederick, 
by way of answer to a consoling letter from the latter to him. 
This holy hymn, said he, it behooves all, who wish to rule well 
and to be useful sovereigns, carefully to learn and to remem- 
ber, since Mary, in it, in the most holy strain sings of God and 
His government, and of His works in the higher and lower 
stations of life. 

Among the enemies, to whom Luther was under the neces- 
sity of replying, Emserwas particularly prominent. He wrote 
against Luther's book to the German nobility, and the latter in 
consequence became involved in a new controversy with him, 
which was conducted in the German language with great se- 
verity. 1 In the same strain, he replied to a writing of an 
Italian Dominican monk, Ambrosius Catharinus, in the Latin 
language, pointed out the ridiculousness of the iatter's defence 
of the Papacy, and appended a detailed exposition of the pas- 
sage in Daniel, chap. viii. 23, 25, declared it to be the kingdom 
of Anti-Christ. Even Luther's friends repeatedly censured him 
for this his severe style of writing. Nor did he take offence at 
this, and for instance, answered Conrad Pellican : " You are 
right, I am sensible of it too, but I cannot control myself. I 
know not what spirit hurries me along, as I am conscious of 
not wishing evil to any one. But my foes press upon me, too, 
most furiously, so that I am not sufficiently on my guard against 
Satan. Pray the Lord for me, therefore, that I may understand, 
speak and write, what is befitting Him and me, and not them." 
But severely as Luther wrote against his opponents, he would 
yet by no means hear of a resort to violence and bloodshed in 
order to maintain the Gospel. In this spirit he wrote to Ulric 
von Hutten, who was meditating warlike plans, and to Spala- 
tin he thus expressed himself on this subject ; " By means of 
the Word the world was overcome and the Church maintained, 
and by means of the Word she shall also again be restored ; 
and Anti-Christ also, as he began without the sword, shall 
without the sword again be vanquished." 

As many confessors at that time closely questioned the 
people at confession, whether they possessed and read Luther's 
books, and menaced them with excommunication and refusal 
ofabsolulion and of the sacrament, Luther further wrote an 
"Instruction for penitents concerning his prohibited books" in 
which he directed them what to do in such case. He concluded 
with the admonition : " Beware, therefore, and let nothing ever 



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so great on earth, not even angels from heaven, against 
thy conscience, drive thee from those doctrines which thou 
knowest and considerest to be divine. St. Paul, Gal. 1, says: 
4 That if an angel from heaven should teach anything different 
from the Gospel, he should be accursed.'' Thou art not the first, 
wilt not be the only one, nor the last, who is persecuted on ac- 
count of God's Word. Christ says : 4 Happy are ye, if you are 
persecuted for righteousness' sake.' Again : 4 You will be hated of 
all men for my sake' Again : 4 The time will come, in which 
those that persecute you will think they are doing God service' 
On such passages we must lay hold, and strengthen ourselves 
through them, yea, thank, praise and pray God, that we may 
be considered worthy to suffer for the sake of His Word. Re- 
member that it is foretold, that in the times of Anti-Christ, no 
one will be permitted to preach God's Word, and all who 
speak or hear it will be considered outcasts. Thus it is now, 
and has been so for more than a hundred years." 

In this way Luther was engaged, when, on Tuesday of the 
holy week, 2 (it being the 26th March,) the imperial herald, 
Caspar Sturm, of Oppenheim, appeared, he being commissioned 
to escort him to Worms, and thence again in safety to his 
home. The citation of the emperor read thus : " Honourable, 
beloved and devout, whereas we, and the estates of the holy 
empire now here assembled, have concluded and resolved to 
receive information concerning the doctrines and the books for 
some time past published by thee, we have, to enable thee to 
come hither and to return again in safety to thy home, given 
and freely offered thee our safe-conduct and that of the em- 
pire, which we herewith transmit to thee. And it is our ear- 
nest desire that thou wouldst speedily set out on thy journey, 
so as, within twenty-one days allowed in this our safe-conduct, 
to be unfailingly here with us, and not to remain away, nor to 
be apprehensive of any violence or injustice. For we shall 
unwaveringly observe to thee our aforesaid safe-conduct, and 
shall also confidently expect thy presence. And in this thou 
wilt comply with our earnest desires. Given in our imperial 
city of Worms, on the 6th day of the month of March, in the 
year of our gracious Lord, 1521, and of our reign the second." 3 

Luther was under the necessity, now, of suspending all his 
labours. On Easter-day, accordingly, he wrote to Duke John 
Frederick : 44 1 herewith transmit to your princely grace the 
first parts of the Magnificat, the fourth part is yet in the 



190 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



printer's hands ; I must defer further attention to it till my re- 
turn ; for your princely grace will perceive, that, being summon- 
ed to the diet, I am constrained to let everything lie." And thus, 
upon such imperial citation and safe-conduct, he set out on his 
journey, (sometime about the 2d April,) and everywhere com- 
mended himself to the prayer of pious men. The council of 
Wittenberg provided him with a conveyance. 

At Leipzig no further honour was shown him, than that the 
council made him the customary present of wine. At Naum- 
burg, the mayor, Grassier, entertained him and the herald with 
hospitality, and a priest of the place sent him the portrait of 
the pious, Christian Savonarola, and exhorted him firmly to 
stand by the once acquired truth, for that his God would, in 
turn, firmly stand by him and support him. As they now came 
to Weimar, where he was presented with money for his jour- 
ney from Duke John, the cry was raised that Dr. Martin and 
his books were already condemned, and that of this there was 
no doubt. 4 And, indeed, he himself beheld the messengers 
who were to post up, in all the cities, the imperial mandate in 
which Luther was condemned by the emperor. Then the 
herald asked him and said: "Good doctor, will you proceed?" - 
He answered : " Yes, though they have excommunicated me, 
and published this in all the cities, yet will I proceed, and con- 
fide in the imperial safe-conduct." 

At Erfurt, Gotha, and Eisenach, Luther preached. The 
Erfurters came as far as two (German) miles to meet him, and 
received him very honourably. At Eisenach he was taken 
very ill, so that his recovery became very doubtful. But on 
" his being bled, and drinking a precious liquor presented to him 
by the mayor, John Osswald, subsequent burgomaster at Gotha, 
he fell into a sleep and grew better. The next day he travel- 
led on, but was ill the whole distance to Frankfort, more so 
indeed than ever before. 

Wherever he entered into a city, the people ran out before 
the city to meet him, being anxious to see the man who was 
causing so much excitement, and was so bold as to venture to 
withstand the pope and the whole world, which, to the dis- 
honour of Christ, had looked upon the latter as God. Some 
whom he met on his journey, afforded him but poor comfort, 
saying, that there were so many cardinals and bishops at the 
diet at Worms, they would instantly burn him to powder, as 
they had done to Huss, at Constance. But Luther answered 



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191 



them : " That though they should kindle a fire which should rise 
up to heaven between Wittenberg and Worms, yet, as he was 
cited he would appear there, and step into the mouth of Behemoth 
between his great teeth, confess Christ, and leave the issue to 
Him." 

The papal adherents at Worms, hearing that Luther was on 
his way, feared for their cause, (for they had hoped Luther 
would suffer the example of Huss to deter him from appear- 
ing,) and succeeded in having the emperor send his confessor, 
a Franciscan monk, by the name of Glapion, and his grand 
chamberlain, Paul von Amsdorf, to Francis von Sickingen, 
with the request to him, to invite Luther to his castle of 
Ebernburg, whither he, the emperor, would send several learn- 
ed men to treat with him, especially because so many import- 
ant affairs engaged their attention at Worms, that they could 
not well give audience to Luther there. Sickingen had no 
objection, and despatched Martin Bucer, who was in his ser- 
vice at that time, in order to inform Luther of the emperor's 
wish. Luther was at Oppenheim, and had only three more 
days allowed him by his safe-conduct, when Bucer came 
to him and endeavoured to persuade him to come to Francis 
von Sickingen, to Ebernburg. But he rejoined : " I shall pro- 
ceed on my journey ; if the confessor of the emperor has any- 
thing to speak with me, he can very well do so at Worms f 
and thus he proceeded. (Luther subsequently regarded the 
whole matter as an artifice of the archbishop of Mayence, who 
had hoped in this way to lead him about, that the term of his 
safe-conduct might expire before he would arrive at Worms.) 

Being now not far from Worms, Spalatin, who was there 
with the elector, sent to him to warn him against coming in 
and exposing himself to such dangers. But he sent word to 
him in return: "If there were as many devils at Worms as 
there are tiles upon the housetops, yet would I enter in. For," 
added he, afterwards, when shortly before his death these mat- 
ters were referred to at table at Eisleben, " I was undaunted 
and feared nothing. God truly can make one so mad. I do 
not know whether I would now also be so joyous." 

On the 16th April, Tuesday after Misericordia Domini, 
Luther entered Worms, seated in his Saxon travelling car, and 
accompanied by his three fellow-travellers, a friar, (by the 
name of John Pezenstein,) the licentiate, Amsdorf and Peter 
Suaven, (an inmate of Melanchthon's house, and a friend of 



192 



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Luther's). In the advance of the car rode the imperial herald, 
in the vestments of his office, with the armorial bearing of the 
eagle on his breast ; so likewise his servant. The licentiate, 
Justus Jonas, of Nordhausen, (at that time still in Erfurt.) and 
his servant, followed in the rear. Many had gone to meet 
him. Of the Saxon nobility, Bernard von Hirschfeld, John 
Schott, Albert von Lindenau, the cup-bearer, with six attendants 
on horseback, as well as many courtiers of other princes. He 
entered the city about ten o'clock in the forenoon. Here the 
court-fool of the duke of Bavaria, Cochlaus, stepped up before 
him, bearing in his hand a crucifix, such as are customarily 
used at funerals, it is not ascertained whether employed for 
the purpose by any one, or whether seized by a prophetic 
spirit, which was ascribed to him, and, with a loud voice sung 
these words : Advenisti desiderabilis, quern expectabamus in 
tenebris, (that is, now thou hast come, thou, for whom we have 
longed and waited in darkness.) More than two thousand 
people followed Luther to his lodgings in the German hotel, 
not far from the hotel of the Swan, in which Ludwig, the 
Elector Palatine had taken up his abode. There many counts 
and gentlemen, clergymen and seculars, visited and conversed 
with him till late in the night. The landgrave of Hesse, like- 
wise came to his hotel on horseback, in order to see him. On 
leaving, he took him by the hand and said : " If you are in the 
right, doctor, may God help you." 

Authorities. — Cyprian's Urk., vol. 1, p. 480, sq. Spalat. Annal., 
p. 18. Let., No. 277, 283, 288, 291. Seckend., p. 149 and 148. 
Let., No. 302, 303, 290, 296, 301. The writings against Emser, W. 
W., vol. 17, p. 609, sq., that against Ambrose Catharinus, in German, 
vol. 7, p. 498. Let., No. 290. The writing : Instruction for penitents, 
&c, W. W., vol. 17, p. 563. The imperial citation and safe-conduct, 
ib. p. 569. Mathes., 3 Pred. Let., No. 308. Veit von Warbeck, in 
Seckend., p. 152, and in Lingke, p. 86. History of what befell Luther 
at the diet of Worms, W. W., vol. 17, p. 568. Myconius, Reformations- 
geschichte, p. 38. Let., No. 309. The further statements according 
to Luther's, Veit von Warbeck's, and Selneccer's (p. 106,) account. 

Notes. — 1.) The manner in which this controversy was conducted, 
is sufficiently apparent from the titles of the writings which were ex- 
changed. They read thus : Refutation of the Augustine, M. Luther's 
unchristian book to the German nobility, addressed to the whole praise- 
worthy German nation, by Jerome Emser. (L.) To the He-goat at 
Leipzig. (E.) To the Steer at Wittenberg. (L.) Reply to the an- 
swer of the He-goat at Leipzig. (E.) Answer to the raving reply of 
the Steer at Wittenberg. Dr. Martin Luther's answer to the hyper- 



THE TIME OP THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



193 



christian, hyper-spiritual, and hyper-artificial book of the He-goat, Era- 
ser, at Leipzig, in which his accomplice, Murner, also is noticed. 
(Thomas Murner, of Frankfort, likewise had written against the address 
to the German nobility.) 

2. ) Luther himself gives this as the date and the statement in 
Walch, who substitutes the 24th, is accordingly to be corrected. 

3. ) To this must be added the safe-conduct. The original is found in 
the Wallerodtian library, at Konigsberg. The elector of Saxony and 
duke George gave Luther additional letters of protection. The former 
had,, at first, been desired by the emperor, to cite Luther to Worms on 
his own authority, but he wisely declined doing so. Cyprian's Urk., 
vol. 2, p. 211, and vol. 1, p. 492. 

4. ) And there was no doubt, the command to deliver them up had 
already been given before, (see above, p. 186,) but was not posted up 
at Worms till the -15th April. Seckend., p. 148. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

LUTHER AT THE DIET. 

Luther's enemies having now learned of his arrival, some of 
them advised that his safe-conduct should be violated. But 
the elector and count Palatine from the Rhine, had expressed 
his opposition to it, and said, his safe-conduct should be invio- 
lably kept, without the least deviation from it, they had, in re- 
ference to it, so vehemently disputed with the elector of Bran- 
denburg, margrave Joachim, the elder, that they had drawn 
their swords upon each other. So the most confidential ad- 
visers of the emperor likewise had replied to his request, as to 
what he should do in Luther's affair : that they knew of no 
better advice, than, as soon as possible, to put Luther out of 
the way and to destroy him, they having cited the case of John 
Huss, and said, that it was not obligatory to give or to keep a 
safe-conduct to a heretic. But the emperor Charles, in reply, 
gave the praiseworthy answer : " What we promise, we should 
perform" 

The day after Luther's arrival, the hereditary marshal of the 
realm, Ulric von Pappenheim, came to him, early before meal- 
time, and informed him of the command of the emperor, that 
he should appear at four o'clock in the afternoon, before his 
imperial majesty, the electors, and other estates of the realm, 
and hear, why and for what purpose he had been cited and 
demanded. This command Luther received with becoming 
reverence. 

13 



194 



THE TIME OP THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



On that occasion he prayed thus : f* Almighty, eternal God, 
what a vain thing is the world's grandeur, yet how greatly do 
men prize it, and how little faith have they in God. How frail 
and weak is the flesh, and how powerful and active through 
his apostles and the worldly wise, is Satan. How swiftly does 
it apostatize and pursue the beaten track, and the broad road 
to perdition, the reward of the ungodly ; looking only at what 
is splendid and powerful, grand and mighty, honoured and re- 
spected. Truly, if to such things I too must look, I am undone, 
the hour of my destruction has come, my doom is fixed. O, 
God ! O God ! O, Thou my God, Thou my God, do Thou stand by 
me and support me against the combined reason and wisdom 
of the world, do Thou do it, Thou must do it, 'Thou alone. It 
is not my cause truly, but Thine; I have nothing personally 
which could bring me in contact, and engage me with these 
great lords of the world. Truly, I too would prefer happy, 
quiet days, and an undisturbed lite. But the cause is Thine, 
O Lord, and it is righteous forever, support Thou me, Thou 
faithful, eternal God, I confide not in men. All is vanity and 
trifling, the flesh and all that savours of the flesh is deceitful. 
O God, O God, dost Thou not hear, my God ? Art Thou dead ? 
No, Thou canst not die, Thou only hidest Thyself. Hast Thou 
chosen me for this, I ask Thee, as I am sure Thou hast, then do 
Thou direct all ; for I never, in all my life, thought or intended 
to be opposed to such great lords. Do Thou, then, my God, 
assist me, in the name of Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who 
shall be my shield and protection, yea, my strong fortress, 
through the power and strengthening influences of thy Holy 
Spirit. Lord, where dost Thou remain ? Thou, my God, 
where art Thou ? Appear, appear, I am ready, even to lay 
down my life, patiently like a lamb. For the cause is righte- 
ous, and it is Thine, neither will I ever separate myself from 
Thee. Be this resolved in Thy name ; the world, with all its 
fiendish might, shall yet leave my conscience untrammelled. 
And if my body, which is still the workmanship of Thy hands, 
and Thy creature should perish, and perish utterly, (against 
which Thy Word and Spirit, nevertheless, testify to me, and it 
would, besides, only affect the body,) the soul is Thine, it be- 
longs to Thee, and remains with Thee forever. Amen. God 
help me. Amen." 

As soon as the clock had struck four, there came Ulric von 
Pappcnheim and Caspar Sturm, demanded and escorted him 



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195 



through the German hotel to the lodging of the count Palatine, 
whence they conducted him to the council-house by secret 
passages, in order that he might sustain no injury from the 
people, who had in crowds assembled in the street leading to 
his imperial majesty's lodging. Yet many ascertained this 
movement, and hastening on, hoped to force their way in, but 
the guards compelled them to stand aloof. Many ascended to 
the tops of the houses in order to obtain a view of Dr. Martin. 

Before going into the assembly he was accosted by the 
knight, George von Freundsberg, who, placing his hand on 
Luther's shoulder, said : " My dear monk, my dear monk, you 
are about to encounter perils, such as I and few officers have 
encountered in our most serious engagements. If you have 
right on your side, and you are certain of the justice of your 
cause, then proceed in God's name, and be of good courage, 
God will not forsake you." 

As Luther was now standing in the presence of his imperial 
majesty, of the electors, and all the estates of the realm, at 
that time in attendance at the Diet, von Pappenheim reminded 
him not to speak until desired. Then the imperial orator, Dr. 
John Eck, 1 general official of the bishop of Treves, in obedience 
to his imperial majesty's order, began, in a clear and distinct 
voice, first in Latin, then in German, to speak thus : " Martin 
Luther, his august and invincible imperial majesty has, in ac- 
cordance with the deliberate advice of all the estates of the 
holy Roman empire, summoned thee to appear here, before his 
majesty's throne, to make inquiry of thee concerning these two 
points : Firstly, whether thou acknowledgest these books"-— of 
which a large number, written in Latin and German, were 
shown — " to be thy own, and whether thou recognisest them as 
thine or not ? Secondly, whether thou wilt revoke them and 
what is contained therein, or whether thou wilt abide by them 
and maintain them?" 

Before Luther, however, replied to these question, Dr. 
Jerome Schurf, who was appointed and stood at his side, as his 
counsel, called out aloud and said : " Let the titles of the 
books be read." The official of Treves thereupon read off the 
titles of the books, among which there likewise were, the ex- 
position of several Psalms, the book concerning good works, 
the explanation of the Lord's prayer, the sermon concerning 
three kinds of righteousness, and other Christian books not of 
a controversial character. Hereupon Luther returned the 



196 



THE TIME OP THE PIUST TESTIMONY. 



following answer in Latin and German : " I must, in the first 
place, certainly acknowledge the books just named as my own, 
and cannot, by any means, disavow a single one of them. But 
as to what follows, that I am to declare, namely, whether I, at 
the same time, will defend or retract all 1 as that is a question 
concerning faith, the salvation of the soul, and God's Word, 
which is the highest and greatest treasure in heaven and on 
earth, and is justly, by all of us, to be held in the highest 
esteem, it would be presumptuous and hazardous in me, hasti- 
ly to declare anything, as I might thus, unadvisedly and with- 
out reflection, assert less than the case demands or more than 
is in accordance with the truth, in both which cases I would 
bring upon myself the judgment pronounced by Christ, when 
he says : ■ He that denieth me before men, Mm will I also deny 
before my Father which is in heaven.' I therefore most submis- 
sively and humbly beg of your imperial majesty, time for con- 
sideration, so that I may be able to return to the questions 
proposed an answer which may be proper, and may neither 
disparage God's Word, nor peril the salvation of my soul." 

The princes then consulted together, and the official of 
Treves returned the following decision : " Although thou, Mar- 
tin Luther, couldst sufficiently have understood, from the im- 
perial mandate and citation, for what purpose and why thou 
hast been summoned, and therefore wouldst not now deserve 
to have further time for reflection granted thee, yet does his 
imperial majesty, from innate kindness, allow thee one day 
more to consider, so that thou art to appear here on the mor- 
row, precisely at this hour, bearing in mind, however, this con- 
dition, that thou art to declare and present thy answer, not in 
writing, but orally." 

Upon this the herald conducted Luther back to his lodgings. 
On the way the people cheered him, and a voice exclaimed : 
" Blessed is the womb that bare thee." Many of the nobility 
came to his lodging to visit him, and said: "Good doctor, how 
do things fare with you, they speak of burning you alive ; but 
they shall fail in this and sooner all perish themselves." Ulric 
von Hutten, at that time, transmitted two comforting letters to 
Luther, 2 whom he called " the invincible theologian and evan- 
gelist, his holy friend," and among other things spoke thus to 
him : " Contend valiantly for Christ, and do not yield to wick- 
edness, but advance boldly and oppose it. Act as a good 
soldier of Christ, and employ the gift which is in you, and be 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



19? 



assured that He in whom you have believed, is able to reward 
you at that day. I too shall battle valiantly ; yet here there is 
a difference between our undertakings, that mine is human, 
but you are more perfectly and entirely devoted to divine 
things, I would much like to see how your adversaries con- 
template you, what squinting looks they cast at you, how they 
gape at you. I think only of frightful things. And frightful 
things I fear there will be ; yet I hope, it is time that the Lord 
Zebaoth purify his vineyard, which the wild swine have laid 
waste, and an especial wild boar has rooted up. So much in 
great concern for you. Christ preserve you. From Ebern- 
burg, the 15th April." And somewhat later : " My Saviour 
Christ, my heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost. What do I 
hear ? What shocking things, alas ! Surely rage itself is not 
i*age, compared with their fiendlike madness. But do you, 
most worthy father, be of good courage, and undismayed. Let 
them not overpower you. They may bray, roar, and rave, but 
do you sternly awe these monsters into silence. For the cause 
is not yours, but His to whom the Lord said : * Sit thou on my 
riglit hand till I make,' &c." 

On the following day, being Thursday, at four o'clock in the 
afternoon, the herald returned and escorted Dr. Luther to the 
emperor's court, where, as the princes were engaged, he re- 
mained till six o'clock, standing in the midst of a great crowd 
of people, who all pressed up anxious to hear his reply. The 
princes having at length taken their seats, and Luther stand- 
ing before them, the official began to speak, and demanded of 
him, as the specified time for further consideration had ex- 
pired, to give a final answer, as to whether he would defend 
his acknowledged books one and ail, or whether he would 
rovoke any part of them* This he spoke in Latin and Ger- 
man. Luther, hereupon, began to reply likewise in Latin and 
German, though most submissively and humbly, was not over- 
loud or vehement, spoke very respectfully, decorously and 
modestly, yet with great Christian joyfulness and firmness, and 
upon the whole, in such a way as to cause his adversaries 
earnestly to wish that he might have spoken more hesitatingly 
and despondingly, for they had expected and hoped, as he had 
requested time for further consideration, that he would have 
recanted. 

Having in the first place begged to be graciously heard, and 
to be excused, if, perhaps, from inexperience, he should not 



198 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY, 



give every one his proper title, or in any other way offend 
against court usages ; he then, firstly, once more acknow- 
ledged his books as his own, "excepting only," added he, 
" what, perhaps, through the knavery or unwarranted conceit 
of my enemies, may have been changed or maliciously inter- 
preted, for I do not acknowledge as my own what belongs to 
others, but only what is mine and is written by me, without 
any one's glosses, be he never so skilful." As to the second 
point, he begged most submissively, that it might be taken into 
consideration, how his books were not all of the same class. 
That in some he had treated of the Christian faith and of good 
works in so plain, simple, and Christian a manner, that even 
his adversaries themselves were constrained to acknowledge 
them to be useful, of no injurious tendency, and worthy to be 
read by Christian people, That even the papal bull had ex- 
cepted some of his books as innocuous, whilst yet it had, un- 
naturally, condemned them together with the rest. If, there- 
fore, he should now revoke these, he alone, of all men, would 
condemn the truth, which friends and foes alike confessed. 
That another class of his books was directed against the papa- 
cy and the papists, who had, by their corrupt doctrines and 
practices, brought desolation upon the Church, as to body and 
soul. That no one could deny or conceal, that the consciences 
of Christians had, through the statutes and human inventions 
of the pope, been most grievously vexed, perplexed and tor- 
mented, and that the property, especially of the German 
nation, had fallen a prey to incredible tyranny. That they 
themselves even, in their own decretals ordained, that those 
statutes and doctrines which might be opposed to the Gospel 
or to the opinions of the Fathers, should be considered errone- 
ous. That, consequently, if he shoffld revoke these books, he 
would be doing nothing less than strengthening such tyranny, 
and opening, not only the windows, but likewise door and 
gate, to a state of things most unchristian and grievous, since 
they would then be much more unrestrained and bold in pur- 
suing their wicked ends than previously, and thus, through his 
testimony, their already unrebuked tyrannical proceedings 
would be only the more encouraged, especially because it 
would be said, that this had been done at the command of his 
imperial majesty, and of the whole Roman empire. That a 
third class of his books were those which he had written 
against some individual persons, such, namely, as had under- 



THE TIME OP THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



199 



taken to defend the tyranny of Rome, and to exterminate those 
blessed doctrines which he had taught. That he admitted his 
having been more vehement against these than was proper. 
That he did not wish to make a saint of himself, nor did he 
dispute concerning his life, but concerning the doctrines of 
Christ. That he could not, however, revoke even these books, 
as he would, by that, give his assent to those tyrannical pro- 
ceedings, and the actors in them, too, would only the more re- 
lentlessly oppress the people. 

" Yet," continued he, " because I am a human being and not 
God, I cannot do anything more for my books than Jesus Christ 
did for his doctrines, who, when he was questioned by An- 
nas concerning his doctrines, being struck on the cheek by a 
servant, said : 6 If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil.' 
If the Lord, accordingly, who knew that he could not err, yet 
did not refuse to hear witness against his doctrines even from 
the basest servant, how much more shall not I, who may easi- 
ly err, desire and wait, whether some one will bear witness 
against my doctrines ? I therefore pray your imperial majesty 
and highnesses, or any one that can do so, be he of high or low 
degree, for the sake of a merciful God, to bear witness and to 
convince me from the evangelical and prophetical writings. 
Then, if I be thus convinced, I shall be quite willing and ready 
to revoke all error, and shall be the first to commit my books 
to the flames. From this, I conceive, it is perfectly evident 
that I have sufficiently considered and weighed the danger of 
dissension, insubordination and rebellion, which are said to 
grow out of my doctrines, as I was sternly and severely re- 
minded yesterday. To me, indeed, it is the greatest delight 
and joy, to behold that division, misunderstanding and dissen- 
tion are occasioned because of God's Word, for this is the 
course and the issue of the divine Word, as the Lord himself 
says : * I am not come to send peace but a sword; for I am come 
to excite a man against his father] &c." He prayed that it 
might be considered, how marvellous and dreadful were the 
judgments of God, lest by beginning with the condemnation of 
God's Word in order to remove divisions, a frightful deluge of 
evils might be the result, and thus the reign of the youthful 
and pious emperor, from whom, next to God, so much was ex- 
pected, have an unfortunate beginning ; for that it could be 
demonstrated from many examples of Holy Writ, that kings 
had then injured themselves most, when they had thought 



200 



THE TIME OP THE FIRST TESTIMONY* 



most firmly to secure their kingdoms by wise counsels and 
projects, God taking the wise in their own craftiness. There- 
fore we ought to fear Him. 

"This," he concluded, "I do not speak as though I thought 
that such great chiefs had need of my instruction or admoni- 
tion, but because I am a German, aM consider it my duty not 
to withdraw my humble services from my native country, and 
herewith I wish it to be considered, that I most submissively 
commend myself to your imperial majesty and highnesses, and 
humbly pray, not to suffer my adversaries to influence you to 
proceed against me without cause. This I shall, at all times, 
in all submission, with humble entreaty to God for you, most 
diligently pray." 

This Luther had spoken in German. They now desired of 
him once more to repeat the same in Latin ; but he was com- 
pletely suffused in perspiration, and the noise, and his position, 
being entirely surrounded by the princes, made him feel quite 
uncomfortable. The Saxon knight, Frederick von Thun, upon 
this said to him : " If you cannot do so, this will suffice, doctor." 
But he repeated all he had spoken in Latin. This greatly 
pleased the elector, duke Frederick. 

He having now concluded his address, the imperial orator 
took up the subject, and in a rebuking tone said : That he had 
not given a satisfactory answer, neither was it intended now 
to dispute concerning things, which the councils of the past 
had already determined and condemned ; but that a plain and 
unequivocal answer was desired of him, as to whether he 
would or would not recant. 

Upon this Luther said : " As your imperial majesty, therefore, 
and highness, desire an unequivocal answer, I will gii.e one 
which shall have neither horns nor teeth, to this effect : Unless it 
be that I am proved to be in error, by testimony from Holy Writ, 
or by clear and overpowering reasons, ( for I base my faith 
neither upon what the pope nor what the councils alone have said, 
since it is evident and manifest, that they have often erred and 
contradicted themselves,) I am constrained, by the passages 
which I have adduced, my conscience being bound by God's 
Word, and therefore I cannot and will not recant, because it is 
neither safe nor advisable to do anything against conscience. 
Here I stand, I cannot act otherwise, so help me God. 
Amen." 3 

The electors and estates of the realm having consulted upon 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



201 



this answer, the official of Treves began thus to refute it : 
"Martin, thou hast replied with more presumption than be- 
comes thy person, and hast not at all spoken to the point. 
Thou makest various distinctions between thy books, yet so as 
not at all to meet the question propounded. If thou hadst re- 
voked those books, in which a great part of thy errors are con- 
tained, his imperial majesty would, no doubt, from innate 
kindness, have prohibited the condemnation of those which are 
good. But thou art anew creating disturbance and excitement 
about things which were condemned by the unanimous voice 
of the general council of Constance, which was assembled 
from all parts of Germany, and thou still callest for proof from 
the Holy Scriptures ; but in this thou dost altogether err. For 
to what purpose is it, anew to dispute about those things 
which so many centuries ago were already condemned by the 
churches and the councils ? Or shall we, perhaps, show and 
give reason to every one concerning all points and articles? 
For if one who is opposed to the councils and the opinion of 
the Church should be sustained in his demand for being over- 
come with Scripture proof, there would be nothing certain or 
established in Christendom. And this is the reason why his 
imperial majesty desires of thee a simple and direct answer, 
either yea or nay, whether thou wilt defend all thy doctrines 
as Catholic and Christian, or whether thou wilt revoke any 
part thereof? " 

Luther, upon this, begged his imperial majesty not to permit 
that he, against his conscience, which was overcome and con- 
strained by God's Word, should be forced to retract anything, 
without sufficient reason from those that opposed him. That 
the answer which he had given was not incorrect or sophisti- 
cal, but simple, plain and right, and that he had no other but 
the one already given. That everything ordained by the 
councils was not necessarily always true, that they had, indeed, 
often contradicted themselves, and this he could demonstrate. 
That therefore he could not retract what was so diligently 
and clearly taught in the Holy Scriptures. 

To this the official simply replied : That the councils could 
not be shown to have erred. But Luther offered to do so. 

Having now finished speaking, he was suffered to withdraw, 
two men being sent with him to conduct and escort him. 
Upon this there arose a tumult, and the noblemen cried out 
and asked : Whether he was conducted away as a prisoner ? 



202 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



But Luther said: That they were only escorting him. As 
Luther was thus in the midst of the crowd, Duke Erich, of 
Brunswick, the elder, sent him a silver pitcher full of Eimbeck 
beer, desiring him to refresh himself therewith. And as Luther, 
on inquiring what prince had thus remembered him, learned 
that the gift came from a papal prince, and that the same had 
himself first drunk from the pitcher, that he might not suspect 
any evil design, Luther likewise drank and said : " As duke 
Erick has now remembered me, so may our Lord Christ 
remember him in his dying hour." 4 He being now on his way 
from the imperial council-house to his lodgings, the Spaniards 
ridiculed and mocked him ; but his courage, confidence, and 
joy in the Lord were so great, that he said to Spalatin and 
others: That if he had a thousand heads, he would lose them 
all before he would retract. 

The following day, (Friday, the 19th April,) the emperor 
sent a document to the council of the realm, in which he said, 
that as Martin would not, in the least, forsake his errors, he 
was necessitated, in imitation of the example of his predeces- 
sors, who had always yielded obedience to the Roman Church, 
to protect the ancient faith, and to aid the Roman See, and 
that he would, therefore, pursue Luther with the ban and pro- 
scription, and other lawful means. That he would »ot, how- 
ever, violate the safe-conduct extended, but first suffer him, in 
safety, to return to his home. The estates took up this mes- 
sage of the emperor, and spent all the afternoon of Friday as 
well as the whole of Saturday in advising upon it. 

Meanwhile Luther was visited by many princes, counts, 
barons, knights, among the nobility, by clergymen, and secu- 
lars, and common people, who were continually in and around 
the hotel in which he lodged, and could not be satisfied with 
seeing him. There were likewise posted up two placards, one 
against the other, as was thought, for Luther. There was 
contained in them an intimation of a combination of four hun- 
dred noblemen, among themselves, for the the purpose of de- 
fending Luther, and likewise of the troops, which Sickingen 
was said to have in readiness. Some, however, conceived it 
to have been designedly and insidiously so arranged, in order 
to have a pretext for revoking the safe-conduct. 

On Monday after Jubilate, (the 22d.) Luther received an in- 
vitation from the archbishop of Treves, Richard von Greifenklau, 
to come to him at six o'clock in the forenoon of Wednesday. 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



203 



The chaplain of the archbishop and the imperial herald 
escorted him thither ; and those that had come with him from 
Saxony and Thuringia, as likewise some other good friends, 
accompanied him, and appeared with him before the prince, 
the archbishop of Treves, the margrave Joachim of Branden- 
burg, duke George, of Saxony, the bishops of Augsburg and 
Brandenburg, and others. The chancellor of the margrave of 
Baden, Dr. Vehus, began with protesting, that they had not 
sent for him in order to dispute with him, but that the princes 
wished only, from Christian love and the especial favour 
which they had obtained from his imperial majesly, graciously 
and brotherly to admonish him. He then represented, that the 
councils had, indeed, instituted various things, but had decreed 
nothing contradictory, and though even they should have 
erred, their authority would yet not, thereby, be subverted, 
that every one should be suffered to oppose them according to 
his own conceits. That human statutes, ceremonies and regu- 
lations, were designed for the suppression of vice, and to be a 
check upon presumptuousness, and could not be dispensed 
with. That Luther's books would cause great commotion and 
fearful insurrections, the populace would misuse the book on 
Christian freedom for the purpose of throwing ofF the yoke and 
strengthening itself in disobedience. That he had written 
much that was good ; his latest works, however, were an evi- 
dence that a tree is not known by its blossoms, but by its 
fruits. In short, the whole of the shrewdly-conceived dis- 
course had for its aim, to prevail upon Luther to take into 
consideration respectability, honour, prosperity, good laws, 
right and order ; and on the other hand, the great danger of 
embarrassing the consciences of men, and of proving detri- 
mental to the general and individual good and interests of 
others. He failed not continually to repeat, that this admoni- 
tion proceeded only from the favourable disposition of the 
princes, and he finally menacingly intimated : That if Luther 
persisted in his course, the emperor would, proceed against 
him and banish him from the empire, and he therefore exhort- 
ed him well to consider these and other things. 

To this Dr. Luther made the following reply : " Most serene 
and serene high-born princes, most gracious lords. I most 
humbly return my thanks to your highnesses for the most gra- 
cious and kind disposition which has prompted this exhortation 
and admonition. For I acknowledge that I, a poor man, am 



204 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



much too insignificant to be exhorted by such distinguished 
princes and lords." He then said that he had not taken excep- 
tion to all the councils, but only to that of Constance, because 
it had condemned God's Word. That he could not prevent 
faith giving offence, as it was not owing to him that Christ 
was a rock of offence. That if the lambs of Chi-ist were led 
to the pure pasture of the Gospel, and there were pious and 
Christian superiors or servants in the Church, there would be 
no need of burthening the Church with human traditions. 
That he well knew that the authorities are to be obeyed, even 
those which lead evil lives ; so he likewise knew that we must 
depart from our own conceits and thoughts, as he had taught 
the same in his books and writings, and would most obediently 
and willingly do all this, excepting only that he would not be 
compelled to deny God's Word. 

Luther having then withdrawn, the princes advised among 
themselves what they should answer him in reply, and when 
he had again been called in, the chancellor repeated what he 
had said before, and exhorted him to submit his books and 
writings to his imperial majesty and the realm for decision. 
Luther replied to this : He would not have it said of himself 
that he had feared the decision and judgment of his imperial 
majesty, the electors, and the estates of the holy empire ; for 
that he was willing to have his books most diligently and 
carefully scrutinized and examined, not only by his imperial 
majesty and their highnesses, but even by the most humble 
personage, if it was only done in accordance with God's Word, 
and here he appealed to a passage of St. Augustine, (see p. 77,) 
and to the words of Paul, 1 Thes. v. 21, and Gal. i. 8, 9. That 
he therefore submissively prayed, they would not oblige him to 
deny God's Word and the Holy Scriptures, by which his con- 
science was bound and constrained, but would graciously in- 
tercede for him with his imperial majesty, that he might not 
be required to do anything against his conscience in this 
matter; everything else he would do most willingly and 
obediently. 

As he spoke this, the margrave Joachim of Brandenburg 
asked him : " Doctor, if I rightly understand you, j our mean- 
ing is that you will not yield, unless you are overcome with 
the Holy Scriptures?" And Luther answered: "Yes, most 
gracious lord, or with clear and manifest reasons and argu- 
ments." 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY, 205 

Thus they separated, the other princes proceeding to the 
council-house, the archbishop of Treves, however, taking 
Luther into his apartment, as likewise his official, John Eck 
and Cochlaus ; but with Luther there were Dr. Jerome Schurf 
and Nicholas von Amsdorf. Then the official began to defend 
the pope's cause, saying, that from the Holy Scriptures there 
had commonly originated only heresies, &c. But Luther and 
Dr. Schurf refuted them. So at length they separated. 

In the evening of the same day the archbishop sent Luther 
word, that his imperial majesty had extended the safe-conduct 
for two days further, in order that he might, in the meantime, 
treat with him. Accordingly, early in the morning of Thurs- 
day, there came the chancellor from Baden, and Dr. Peutinger, 
and endeavoured to persuade Luther simply and without con- 
dition, to submit it to the emperor and the realm, to decide 
concerning his books. Luther rejoined, that he would have no 
objection, if they would only suffer the Holy Scriptures to be 
the guide and umpire ; and when they vehemently and press- 
ingly urged him, he roundly declared : That he would not, in 
short, suffer any man to sit in judgment on God's Word. 

Upon this they left, but desired him to bethink himself and 
to return a better answer, after dinner they would call again. 
They did call again, but accomplished as much as before. 
They finally endeavoured to induce him, at least, to refer his 
cause to the decision of a future council. This Luther was 
willing to do, but on the condition, that the articles drawn 
from his books should be submitted to the council itself, and 
the Holy Scriptures be made to decide concerning them. 

They now went and informed the archbishop that Luther 
had offered to refer his books, in the shape of a number of 
articles, to the decision of a council, and in the meantime ob- 
serve silence ; which, however, had never entered into the 
mind of Luther. Then God so ordered it, that the archbishop 
caused Luther to be sent for, in order to hear him himself. On 
his now perceiving that matters stood very differently, he said : 
That he would not, for a great deal, have failed hearing him 
himself; as he would soon have waited upon the emperor and 
have informed him of what the doctors had reported, and then 
have been found under a misapprehension. He, however, 
most graciously conversed with Luther, at first alone, in refer- 
ence to the decision Doth of the emperor and realm, as well as 
of a council, Luther concealing nothing, and saying plainly : 



206 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



That it would not at all do to confide and submit so important 
a matter to those, who, during the term of his safe-conduct had 
condemned him by new mandates, and approved and confirmed 
the pope's bull. The archbishop then took Spalatin with him 
into the apartment, and with many gracious words endea- 
voured to induce Luther at least to yield something, and said: 
" My dear doctor, what is to be done then ? " Then Luther 
spake these words : " Most gracious lord, I know no better advice 
than that which Gamaliel gave, as stated in the Acts of the Apos- 
tles : ' If this counsel or this work be of men it will come to 
nought, but if it be of God ye cannot overthrow it.' So likewise 
if my cause is not of God, it will not maintain itself for more 
than two or three years, but if it is of God it cannot be over- 
thrown." The archbishop then asked him what he would do, 
if the articles which were to be submitted and referred to the 
council should be condemned? Dr. Luther replied : "If only 
they are not those which were condemned by the council of 
Constance." The archbishop : " Precisely those it will be, I 
fear." Luther : "Then I can and will not be silent, as I am 
convinced that by such decrees God's Word is condemned. 
Therefore I shall sooner part with life and everything else, 
than surrender God's clear and true Word." 

The archbishop now perceiving that Luther would, on no 
account, submit God's Word to human decision, he graciously 
dismissed him. But Luther said : " Most gracious lord, I pray 
3 r our electoral grace to obtain for me from his imperial majes- 
ty, gracious permission to return to my home, for I am now 
here the tenth day and nothing has been accomplished with 
me." Then the archbishop said : " I shall presently ride to his 
imperial majesty and submit the matter." 

Thus Luther took leave of the archbishop of Treves, and 
went directly to the knight, John von Minkwitz, who was lying 
dangerously ill at Worms, and having given him faithful and 
Christian consolation, he, on leaving, blessed him, and among 
other things, said : " On the morrow I shall leave." Then Spa- 
latin tugged him by his cap, which he at that time yet wore, 
and said : " Doctor, you certainly are premature in saying that 
you will leave on the morrow ; why you have not yet obtained 
your final dismission." Then he said : " You shall see, I shall 
leave on the morrow." Thus he returned to his lodging. And, 
in truth, not fully three hours after the conversation with the 
archbishop, the official of Treves, and with him Maximilian 



THE TIME OP THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



Transilvanus, his imperial majesty's secretary, besides a nota- 
ry and several other persons, arrived, and upon command of 
the emperor informed him : That, as he had been so often and 
in different ways exhorted by his imperial majesty, the elec- 
tors and estates of the realm, and yet would not take this to 
heart, so as to reform or to return to unity and peace with the 
Church, his imperial majesty, as protector and defender of the 
Catholic faith, was compelled to proceed to harsher measures 
against him. That his majesty's command therefore was, that 
he should be suffered, within twenty-one days, without mo- 
lestation, to return to his home, under the protection of public 
safe-conduct, which should be inviolably kept to him, on con- 
dition, however, that he should not on his way, by preaching 
or writing, cause disturbance among the people. Luther, on 
hearing this, with great humility and modesty said : " As it 
seemed good to the Lord so has it happened, blessed be the name oj 
the Lord." Then he said further : That he most humbly and 
faithfully thanked his imperial Roman majesty, the electors, 
and the estates of the holy empire, for hearing him so gra- 
ciously, and so graciously observing to him his safe-conduct. 
That he would also willingly have yielded in all things, 
whether for life or death, honour or dishonour, only God's 
Word he was constrained freely to teach and to confess. 

Authorities. — History of what befell Luther at the diet of Worms, 
W. W., vol. 17, p. 586. Dr. M. Luther's acts before the emperor, <fcc, 
ib. p. 574. Luther's prayer, p. 589. Hutten's Let., in the Hall. ed. of 
the W. W., vol. 15, p. 2192. Spalat. AnnaL, p. 41, 44-47. Seckend., 
p. 155. 

Notes. — 1.) Not to be confounded with the known adversary of 
Luther. 

2. ) Hutten likewise sent letters to the emperor and the clergy assem- 
bled at Worms, in which he advocates Luther's cause, earnestly repre- 
senting to the emperor Rome's oppression of the Germans, and Luther's 
innocence, and in severe terms, reminding the clergy of their injustice, 
wicked lives, and obstinate persecution of Luther and God's Word. 
Hall. ed. of the W. W., vol. 15, p. 2195 and 2208. 

3. ) Thus the somewhat intricate construction of this passage seems 
most accurately restored, by a comparison of the two existing German 
criticisms of the text with each other, and the Latin. 

4. ) And it is related that Duke Erick really did remember this in his 
dying hour, and that he desired evangelical consolation from the attend- 
ing page, Francis von Kramm. The account is based on Selnecker's 
authority, (p. 118.) who, though no cotemporary of Luther's, yet learned 
many particulars from the lips of the imperial herald. 



208 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



CHAPTER XV. 

DEPARTURE FROM WORMS AND IMPRISONMENT. 

The elector of Saxony, who had already, before Luther's arrival 
at Worms, written to his brother, duke John : " Would to God 
I could do anything towards having Martin treated with jus- 
tice, I should not fail to do so," had, with admiration, listened 
to his courageous answer before the emperor and the estates 
of the realm. He, on the same evening, sent for Spalatin, and 
the latter having come, he beckoned him into his apartment, 
and with great astonishment said to him : " Truly the pater, 
Dr. Martin, spoke well, both in Latin and German, before the 
emperor and the assembled princes and estates of the realm. 
He is far too bold." And on the 23d April he wrote to his 
brother : " If it were in my power I should very willingly have 
justice done Dr. Martin. . . . There is nothing else contem- 
plated but to drive him into exile. Every one that in the least 
w r ishes him w T ell is put down as a heretic. May God dispose 
all for good ! and surely He will not forsake the righteous 
cause." The elector, therefore, certainly was well disposed 
towards Luther, and he would have been very much grieved if 
anything untoward had befallen him ; he would not, on any 
account, have acted against God's Word, but he, at that time, 
was still somewhat faint-hearted, and did not wish to incur the 
displeasure of the emperor. He accordingly fell upon the ex- 
pedient of concealing Luther for some time, in the hope that, 
meanwhile, matters might perhaps be adjusted, and this he 
also caused to be communicated to him in the presence of 
Spalatin, and of the knights Philip von Feilitsch and Frederick 
von Thun, the evening before his departure from Worms. 
Luther, out of respect for the elector, yielded consent, though 
he would certainly, at all times, have much preferred, boldly to 
prosecute his cause. 

On Friday after Jubilate, the 26th April, he, having before 
blessed his lords and friends, of whom a great number had 
come to him, and partaken of some soup and breakfast, de- 
parted, about ten o'clock in the forenoon, being accompanied 
by those who had come with him thither and escorted him. 
But Caspar Sturm, the herald, followed him several hours 



THE TIME OP THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 209 

afterwards, and overtaking htm at Oppenheim, escorted him 
in obedience to the verbal command of the emperor. 

Writing from Frankfort, he, in a letter dated the 28th April, 
took leave of his friend and god-father, Lucas Kranach, be- 
cause he had to permit himself to be imprisoned and con- 
cealed, he did not yet know himself where. And though he 
would sooner have suffered death at the hands of the tyrants, 
he yet durst not despise the advice of pious men, but must 
abide his time. " For a short time I must maintain silence and 
suffer; ' A little while and you shall not see me, and again a 
little while and you shall see me,' says Christ. I trust this shall 
be true now too. Yet God's will, which is the best, be done in 
this, as in heaven, so on earth. Amen." 

On this day he proceeded as far as Friedberg. From this 
place he despatched two letters, one in Latin, to the emperor, 
the other in German, to the estates of the realm, both of the 
same import. He in them once more rehearsed the whole 
course of the proceedings, said that he had offered and did still 
offer to do everything, only God's Word should be free and un- 
trammelled ; he regretted that he had not been met with proof 
from the Scriptures, but that they had insisted only on a re- 
cantation, he at the same time, however, humbly returned his 
thanks for the observance of the safe-conduct, and promised 
his dutiful prayer for his imperial majesty and the whole 
realm. 

With this communication he dismissed the herald, 1 and on 
the 29th drove to Grilnberg, on the 30th to Hersfeld. Here he 
was, with much kindness, received by the resident princely im- 
perial abbot of the Benedictine cloister there, Crato Meilius. 
The latter sent his chancellor and auditor the distance of a 
(German) mile to meet him, received him himself with many 
horsemen, and escorted him into the town. Within the gates 
Luther was received by the town-council, and then nobly en- 
tertained in the cloister, being constrained to lodge in the bed- 
chamber of the abbot. At five o'clock in the morning they 
insisted on his delivering a sermon, which he in vain refused, 
he fearing that the abbot might forfeit his prerogatives if this 
should perhaps be represented to the emperor as a breach of 
faith, since preaching on the way had been forbidden him. 
Yet he could undoubtedly say, that he had not given his assent 
to having God's Word bound. The next day the abbot escorted 
the travellers as far as the forest, and caused his chancellor 

14 



210 



THE TIME OF THE FIRST TESTIMONY. 



once more to entertain them at Berka. By evening they arrived 
at Eisenach, whence many came out on foot to meet them. 
Here Luther likewise preached. The next morning Dr. Schurf 
and all his fellow travellers, (except Amsdorf,) took leave of 
him. He himself, even on the 3d May, wrote from Eisenach 
to count Albrecht, of Mansfeld, and proceeded to visit his re- 
latives behind the forest, (in Mora). Having now taken leave 
of them and being on his way to Waltershausen, there of a 
sudden galloped forth towards him from a narrow pass not 
far from Altenstein, two noblemen, John von Berlepsch, captain 
of the Wartburg, and Burkard von Hund, lord of Altenstein, 
with two servants, and on the drivers ordering one of them to 
be gone, they commanded him to halt, whilst they, at the same 
time, with feigned violence seized Luther and drew him from 
his car. One of the servants dealt AmsdorFs driver some 
blows and forced him to hasten away. Amsdorf knew that 
Luther was to be imprisoned, but the place of his confinement 
he did not know. Luther's brother (Jacob, who was with him,) 
as soon as he saw the horsemen, leaped from the car and made 
for a place of safety. The horsemen clothed Luther in a rid- 
ing-dress, assisted him on a horse, and conducted him about 
the forest for some hours, till night had overtaken them. They 
likewise strapped one upon a horse, that they might bring a 
captive with them. Thus they arrived at the castle of Wart- 
burg about midnight, the new horseman quite fatigued from 
the long journey. 

Authorities. — Seckend., p. 158. Spal. Annal , p. 40 sq. Let., 
No. 311, 312, 313, 315, 2 vol., No. 319. Mathes. 3 Pred. 

Note. — 1.) Probably because he now entered the Hessian territory, 
and had a safe-conduct from the landgrave, Philip of Hesse, and perhaps 
too, because he knew what awaited him. 



\ 



PART IV. 



THE 

STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 

FROM THE ABODE AT THE WARTBURG TO THE CLOSE OF THE DIET 
OF AUGSBURG. 

From May 4, 1521, to October, 1530. 



211 



CONTENTS OF PART IV. 



At the Wartburg, Luther, amidst bodily distresses and spiritual trials, though other- 
wise well -provided for, submissively endured the confinement enjoined upon him, in 
prayer, and with his labours served the Church of Christ. His writings soon make 
known to friend and foe, that he still lives. Each one of his writings speaks with the 
voice of thunder upon the musty fabric of papistical falsehood. The sacrifice of the 
mass falls into disuse, the doors of the cloisters are opened, the prohibition of marriage 
to the priests is discarded, as the doctrine of devils ! At the Wartburg, Luther 
likewise began to translate the Bible into German ; and everywhere arise, to the 
captive, friends and assistants in the work of the Lord. But Satan was not idle, and 
in his absence enters his own fold. Upon this, Luther, under a far greater pro- 
tection than that of the elector, returns to Wittenberg, and by his powerful discourses 
from God's Word, calms the tumult. Now, with the sword in one hand and the trowel 
in the other, he, under the blessing of God, prosecutes the work anew, though not 
without experiencing, both in himself and by sympathy with the members of Christ, 
all manner of sufferings, occasioned by foes, now by false friends. Among these must 
be reckoned the martyrdom of faithful witnesses, as the death of the wise Frederick ; 
the errors of the Sacramentarians and the Fanatics, and the insurrection of the pea- 
santry. And as he had previously laid aside the hood, so now, precisely at this time, 
he discards the last remnant of popery, by entering the divinely-instituted state of 
matrimony. God blesses him with a pious spouse, children, and domestic affliction. 
In the hour of severest trials, when he already despairs of life, his faith proves nobly 
triumphant. Now good Christian order, spreading abroad from Wittenberg, is daily 
established upon a firmer basis ; the work of visitation begins ; the catechism appears. 
The dispute concerning the Lord's Supper, however, continues, and the colloquium 
held at Marburg, does not put an end to the dissension. Yet those, whom Luther's 
testimony has gained over to confess the truth in its purity, now draw so much the 
more closely together ; and conscience, as constrained by the Word of God, having 
been secured against the enemy, by the protestation of Speyer, they unite in the good 
Confession of Augsburg ; and whilst his friends are hotly contesting for it at the diet, 
Luther, like a second Moses, stands upon the Ehrenburg, with hands raised to 
heaven, imploring victory upon the arms of the Lord, and sending many a word of 
powerful comfort to the combatants. 



CHRONOLOGICAL SYNOPSIS. 

1521. November. Writing concerning the abuse of the mass, and writ- 

ing concerning spiritual and monastic vows, - Chap. 1 

1522. March 7. Luther at Wittenberg again, - - - w 2 
1522. September. The translation of the New Testament appears, " 3 
1525. January. Writing against the Heavenly Prophets, - " 5 
1525. June 13. Luther is married, .--.--"6 

1527. July 6. in great bodily and spiritual distress, - *' 8 

1529. March- The Catechism, "9 

1529. Oct. 1—4. The conference at Marburg, - - - " 10 

1530. April — Oct. Luther at Coburg during the Diet of Augsburg, - "11 

212 



CHAPTER I. 



LUTHER IN HIS PATMOS. 



The report of Luther's having been taken captive spread 
abroad with surprising rapidity ; but all were in the greatest 
uncertainty as to what had become of him ; whether he had 
been put to death, or was still living. 1 " If he still lives, or if 
they have murdered him !" — the painter Albrecht Durer wrote 
in his journal,—" which I do not know, he has suffered for the 
sake of Christian truth, and because of having rebuked the un- 
christian papacy, which by its oppressive burden of human sta- 
tutes opposes the liberation of Christ." As thou didst to this 
man, who has written more clearly than anyone that has lived 
within one hundred and forty years, to whom thou hast given 
so evangelical a spirit, we pray thee, O heavenly Father again 
to give thy Holy Spirit to one, who may collect thy holy Chris- 
tian church from all parts, that we may once more lead quiet 
Christian lives, so that all infidels, Turks and heathens, may, 
by our good works, be won over and embrace the Christian 
faith. But, Lord, thou wishest, before thou judgest, that as 
thy Son Jesus Christ was put to death by the priests, arose from 
the dead and ascended up into heaven, so likewise, it should 
similarly happen to thy follower, Martin Luther, whom the 
Pope, by bribery, treacherously against God, deprives of his 
life, him thou wilt quicken ; and as thou, my Lord, didst after- 
wards dispense that Jerusalem was destroyed in consequence, 
so wilt thou likewise destroy this arbitrarily-assumed power 
of the Roman See. O Lord, do thou afterwards grant us the 
new-adorned Jerusalem, which descends from heaven, and of 
which the Apocalypse speaks, the holy pure gospel, which is 
not obscured by the doctrines of men. May every one, there- 
fore, who reads Martin Luther's books observe, how clear and 
lucid his doctrines are, when he treats of the holy gospel, where- 
fore his books are to be highly esteemed and not to be burned ; 
rather should his adversaries, who always resist the truth, be 
cast into the fire with all their opinions, because they attempt 
to make gods of men. But, oh,* that more Lutheran books 
were published. God, if Luther is dead, who will in future 



214 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



so clearly proclaim to us the holy gospel ! Oh, my God, what 
might he rrot still have written in ten or twenty years ! Oh, all 
ye Christian people, aid me in diligently bewailing this 
heavenly-minded man, and in praying to God, that he would 
send us another enlightened man." 

Meanwhile there was published, in the month of May, 2 the 
imperial edict against Dr. Martin Luther's books and doctrines, 
his adherents, supporters, followers, &c. After it had enu- 
merated the errors and heresies, the introduction of which it 
ascribed to Luther, it proceeded : " And that all the other in- 
numerable iniquities of Luther be, for the sake of brevity, 
passed by in silence, let it suffice to say, that this individual, 
not as a human being, but as the evil spirit, in the form of a 
man, under the assumed cowl of a monk, has collected into one 
filthy puddle the most severely-condemned heresies of many 
heretics, which for a long time past have remained concealed, 
and has moreover invented several himself under pretence of 
preaching the faith, which he generally inculcated with so 
much diligence, in order in this way to destroy the true and 
right faith, and under the name and the appearance of evan- 
gelical doctrine, to subvert and to crush all evangelical peace 
and love, as likewise all good ordinances and the most ornate 
Christian forms." The transactions at Worms are then related, 
how Luther, remaining altogether obdurate and perverse, had 
continued in his manifestly-heretical opinions, and on that ac- 
count had been declared a member severed from God's church, 
an obdurate disturber and manifest heretic, wherefore it is 
commanded, under pain of punishment for high treason, and 
the severest proscription of the empire, that no one shall afford 
him lodging, food, drink, or protection, or in word or deed, 
secretly or openly adhere to him, aid or assist him ; but if any 
should get him into their power to take him captive and to de- 
liver him well secured to his imperial majesty. All are to 
oppose and take captive his coadjutors, adherents, harbourers, 
supporters, patrons, and followers, to seize their property and 
retain it for their own use. His books were forbidden to be 
purchased, sold, read, kept, copied, printed or caused to be 
copied and printed, but that every one should endeavour to 
obliterate and destroy all remembrance of them among men, 
regardless of any good, which might be introduced into them, 
for the purpose of deceiving the simple. 

Luther being now in his Patmos, as he called the Wartburg, 



THE STRUGGLES OB* THE REFORMATION. 



215 



was informed through Spalatin, that they were forging so 
severe an edict against him ; his opinion was, however, that it 
Would not do much harm and wished only that he could pub- 
licly enter the lists for the Word of God. To his Melanchthon 
he wrote : " But what art thou doing, my Philip ? Dost thou 
pray for me too, that this my involuntary concealment may 
redound to the greater honour of God ? I did indeed fear, it 
might seem as if I had fled from the battle, and yet it was not 
in my power to withstand those who desired and advised this. 
I desired nothing more than openly to meet my furious enemies 
and to offer up my life. Now I sit here, and all the day long 
picture to myself the condition of the church, and detest my 
insensibility, that I am not wholly dissolved in tears, and with 
my eyes, as with fountains of tears, weep over the slain of my 
people. But there is none to arise and to stand on the side of 
the Lord, exposing himself in the defence of the house of Israel 
in these last times of the wrath of God. Yes, kingdom of the 
pope, thou art worthy of these last waning times ? May God 
have mercy on us. Do thou, therefore, meanwhile, as servant 
of the Word, advance and guard the walls and gates of Jerusa- 
lem, even till they bury thee in their fall. Thou knowest thy 
calling and thy gifts. I pray for thee above all, if (as I doubt 
not) my prayer avails anything. Do thou do likewise; we 
will bear our burden together. We alone yet remain in the 
battle ; after I am gone, the storm will burst over thy head." 

But although Luther had submitted to this seclusion only 
with reluctance ; he yet on the other hand felt satisfied too, 
because he saw in it the will of God, and he approved of 
having his abode carefully concealed, 3 perceiving that the 
Lord had some very especial design with this silence. To 
prevent his being recognised, he was required to lay aside his 
own garments, and to clothe himself in the habit of a knight, 
besides suffering his beard and the hair on his head to grow, 
and in this way he entered even several cloisters without being 
recognised. On occasion of such excursions he was attended 
by a respectable servant, a discreet horseman, whose fidelity 
and admonitions he subsequently often commended, he having 
enjoined him not to lay aside his sword at the inns and not 
instantly to run to the books, lest he might be taken for a 
scribe. At Martschal he came to his friends, but the knight 
George, — for so the horseman called him — they did not 
know. At Reinhardsbrunnen he was recognised by a prose- 



216 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



lyte : as soon as his governor perceived this, he reminded his 
knight, that he would in the evening have to be present at the 
appointed negotiation, and he accordingly, in haste, again took 
his departure. On one occasion he also went out to the chase, 
but even here, amidst the hounds and the nets, he pursued 
his theological meditations. He wrote to Spalatin concerning 
it as follows : " Notwithstanding the pleasure it afforded me 
to witness the spectacle, yet did the spiritual application ex- 
cite equally as much pain and sympathy. - For what does the 
picture represent else but the devil, who with insidious art, 
through his ungodly servants, his hounds, namely the bishops 
and the theologians, hunts the innocent animals. Only too 
vividly did this exceedingly sad picture of the simple and be- 
lieving souls impress itself upon my mind. To this was added 
one even more shocking. At my instance we had preserved 
alive a little hare, and having enveloped it in the sleeve of 
my coat, I had gone away and left it for a short time ; mean- 
while the hounds, tracing up the poor hare, bit him through 
the coat, and breaking his right leg killed him. Yea, so do 
the pope and Satan rave, that they even again destroy the 
rescued souls and render void all my labours. In a word, I am 
weary of this species of hunting, and consider that more 
agreeable, where bears, wolves, swine, foxes, and such like 
servants of ungodliness are the aim for spear and arrow. Yet 
I comfort myself with this, and this is an application for good, 
that it is better for hares and innocent animals to be caught 
by men, than by bears, wolves and birds of prey, or the 
bishops and theologians, who are like them : for in the latter 
instance they are, according to the application, caught for 
hell, in the former, for heaven. — I have written thus sportivety, 
to remind you, that you wild game eaters, at the court, will 
one day yourselves be wild game in paradise, having, only 
with great labour and difficulty, been caught and preserved by 
Christ the best hunter ; the sport applies to you, when you 
have your sport at the chase." 

Luther was very well entertained by von Berlepsch, the 
captain of the castle, much better he thought, than he de- 
served ; 4 but God afflicted him with sickness, that he might 
not be without the cross. An obstinate constipation, a malady, 
from which he already suffered at Worms, increased to such 
a degree, that he, under date of the 13th June, complained to 
his Melanchthon : " For eight days, I neither write, nor pray, 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



217 



nor study. If the matter does not grow better, I shall be under 
the necessity of publicly proceeding to Erfurt, in order to 
obtain the advice of the surgeons, for I cannot endure this 
evil any longer. Perhaps God visits this upon me, for the 
purpose of again driving me from my wilderness into the 
midst of men." By taking some pills, which Spalatin sent 
him, he was partially relieved, but his digestion was not im- 
proved, and the soreness occasioned by the constipation con- 
tinued. Under date of the 9th Sept. he still complained : " To- 
day, as on the sixth day, I have, at last, had an evacuation, of such 
severity, that I nearly expired. Now I am in pain, as one in 
travail, lacerated, sore and bloody, and shall have little or no 
rest this night. Praised be Christ, who does not leave me, 
without a relic of his holy cross." Not till the 7th October 
could he, with gratitude to God, inform his Spalatin, that he 
was well again, as before. 

But the spiritual trials, which Luther had to endure, did 
not forsake him so soon. If he had before already lamented 
it, that, instead of being fervent in spirit, he was fervent in the 
flesh, indolent and slow to prayer, without sensibility in his 
heart, and had inquired of his friends whether perhaps they 
were neglecting to pray for him ; he at a later date (Novemb. 
the 1st) wrote to Nicholas Gerbelius, a jurist of Strasburg : 
Wouldst thou believe it, that here in my leisure and solitude 
I am exposed to a thousand devils ? It is much more easy to 
contend against the incarnate devil, that is, against men, 
than against the spiritual powers of wickedness under heaven. 
I fall often, but the right hand of the Most High sustains me. 
On this very account I am anxious again to be out among men : 
but I shall abide God's own time." 

Concealed, however, as Luther's abode was kept, the report 
of his being at the Wartburg continually gained ground. The 
wish of his friends, who (as Nich. Gerbelius) urgently prayed 
him, " to inform them, whether he was alive, whether he was 
imprisoned, whether the liberty to write and to instruct them, 
was taken from him, or how he fared," was at least soon ful- 
filled, for Luther did not only diligently apply himself to study 
" in his wilderness," perusing the Bible in Greek and Hebrew, 
writing many excellent and consoling letters to his good friends, 
as also on holy days preaching to his host and confidential 
people, but he likewise soon published various writings. 

He finished the Magnificat (see above, p. 187), composed a 



213 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



Commentary on the 68th Psalm, and wrote the Treatise: " Con- 
cerning Confession^ whether the pope is authorized to enjoin it" 
which he dedicated to the knight Francis von Sickingen, ob- 
serving, on the occasion, concerning himself and his adver- 
saries : " We are neither of us over the mountain yet ; but T 
have one advantage, I go empty, God grant that the truth may 
triumph." In this writing he, firstly, intimates, that the statutes 
of men are not to be added to the statutes of God ; then he 
shows, that the pope and his advocates have no power 
whatever to enjoin confession upon all Christians, God not 
having commanded them to do so. In the third place he 
says, that "secret confession" is indeed a precious, wholesome 
institution ; that this, however, was perplexing, that the pope 
made it a matter of necessity, and compelled Christians once 
a year to confess all their sins to their own priests. That from 
this resulted the twofold evil, firstly, if any one went to con- 
fession involuntarily and with a reluctant heart, God's Word 
and promise were in vain dispensed ; secondly — this being a 
consequence of all other human statutes — either a false evil 
conscience or a false good conscience and idolatry. That, 
therefore, it was his faithful advice, not to go to confession or 
to partake of the Lord's Supper, during Lent or at Easter, 
simply because a man, the pope, had commanded this; or if 
notwithstanding there was a wish to go to confession' or to 
partake of the sacrament at this time, not to do so in obedience 
to papal statutes, but from an unconstrained will for the good 
and the salvation of the soul. But there are two reasons 
which should constrain us voluntarily and willingly to go to 
confession : the first, the holy cross, the second, the precious 
and noble promise of God. But where there is true repen- 
tance, there there is no need of much persuasion and exhor- 
tation ; and again to those who are not thus prepared, con- 
fession is of no avail whatever. He finally, for the comfort of 
those weak in the faith, points out the optional character of 
confession, and directs them not to attempt confessing every 
sin, but only those which perplex and oppress their conscience ; 
and in case they did not wish to confess to a priest or a monk, 
to apply to any one, whether priest or layman, in whom they 
confided, as the priests were not to be lords but servants of 
Christendom, and secret confession had been given not to the 
pope, but to Christendom in general. 

" In his solitude, Luther also published that learned book 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



219 



against Jacob Latomus of Louvaine, (who had defended the 
condemnation and burning of Luther's books by the Louvaine 
theologians— see above p. 133), in which he so ably treats of 
letter and spirit, law and gospel, the offices of Moses and 
of Jesus Christ, of sin and grace, and how we become righteous 
before God and are saved only through faith in Christ, that 
I," Mathesius wrote, "as far as my knowledge of Chris- 
tianity extends, have not, if I except his explanation of the 
Epistle to the Galatians, and the Epistle to the Romans 
and Loci Communes by Philip Melanchthon, read anything 
more correct and solid." In its composition, Luther was 
wholly deprived of books, having only the Bible near him, 
and he consequently could not himself examine and see, 
whether his adversary had quoted the declarations of the 
Fathers of the church correctly. He accordingly called upon 
his friends likewise to do something for the Gospel : he had 
crushed the head of the serpent, they surely now might fully 
crush the body. That he besides had only with reluctance 
torn himself loose from the peaceful truths of Christ, to which 
he had devoted himself in his Patmos, and had thus wasted his 
time with reading the absurdities of so venomous a sophist, 
wherefore he did not wish further to refer to Latomus, especi- 
ally as he had begun to explain the Epistles and Gospels in 
German? 

At the request of Duke John, and in order to give the Ger-» 
mans a foretaste of the PostiU he in the first place published 
the " Gospel of the ten lepers, translated into German and ex- 
plained? because thereby it had been attempted to support the 
ordinance of confession to the priest. "Herewith," said he, 
" I desire to give to my dear Germans a taste of the Postils 
from the centre of the barrels, although I have not progressed 
further with them than from Advent to Epiphany, being obliged, 
on account of the blasphemers, to interrupt these labours. 
He wrote the Postil, " because under the papacy the Gospels 
for the Sundays were often, on account of the legends, wholly 
omitted, and because, besides those of Tauler, there were 
few Postils extant, from which children and simple laymen 
could be plainly and correctly taught, how to lead a Christian 
life and to die happily ;" he at the same time, however, sighed : 
*' O would to God, that the pure Gospel were known among 
Christians, and that this my labour were to a certainty useless 
and needless, then there would certainly be hope that the 



220 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



Holy Scriptures would likewise again be esteemed according 
to their worth ! " He nevertheless subsequently called the 
Postil the very best book he had ever written, which even the 
papists approved. 

A writing " against the idol at Halle" that is, against the 
sale of indulgences, which had again been opened in that 
town, Luther did indeed, at the urgent desire of the elector 
and of Spalatin, keep quiet ; instead of it, however, he wrote 
to the cardinal and archbishop of Mayence, and called upon 
him to remove the " idol," as well as to leave those priests 
undisturbed, who, to avoid unchastity, had entered or wished 
to enter the state of matrimony ; otherwise he would, for the 
promotion of divine Truth and the salvation of Christians, be 
constained to declare against this nefarious business, to charge 
all the former abominations of Tetzel upon the bishop of 
Mayence, and to proclaim to all the world the difference 
between a bishop and a wolf. That he would expect a distinct 
and speedy answer within fourteen days, for after that his 
book would be published. "Only let not your electoral grace 
imagine that Luther is dead ;" — he wrote — "he will have 
sueh a bold and joyous confidence in that God, who has humbled 
the pope, and begin such a game with the cardinal of Mayence. 
as few anticipate. Join together, dear bishops, boasting lords 
you may remain, but this spirit you shall not yet silence or 
quench ; ii", however, any disgrace, which you do not now 
anticipate, grow out of it to you, I will herewith have given 
you due warning." 

The cardinal returned a very mild and humble answer to 
this, excused himself and declared, that he was more than 
willing, for Christ's sake, to show Luther grace and favour ; 
but the joy which this afforded the latter, was greatly di- 
minished by the accompanying letter of Wolfgang Fabricius 
Capito, preacher and counsellor of the archbishop, and he 
considered the whole merely as finely-spun hypocrisy. For 
Fabricius had written, that he had adopted a different course 
to advance the cause of the Gospel, from that of Luther and 
his friends, and Luther found himself constrained, according 
to the explanation of Fabricius himself, to understand this as 
follows : " That the cause of the Gospel is promoted by over- 
looking one thing and the other in the conduct of princes, by 
sparing them, excusing their deeds, and not rashly challenging 
them," which he, however, considered veritable hypocrisy and 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



221 



a denial of Christian truth. He accordingly replied: "If your 
cardinal had written the letter from his heart, good God, how 
joyfully, how humbly would we not cast ourselves at his feet, 
not deeming ourselves worthy to kiss the dust from his feet." 
Are we not likewise dust and a filthy pit of sin 1 Let him but 
receive the Word and we shall serve him as servants. But 
for those that despise the doctrines and office of the Word, 
craftily opposing and condemning them, we have neither grace, 
love, nor favour. Although, in truth, the highest love is, with 
all our might, in every possible way to resist their ravings." 
And further : " Do you take Luther to be a man who will 
overlook all you have been engaged in, simply because he has 
been tempted with a flattering letter? — Then may you once 
for all know this : My love is ready to die for you. But he 
that toucheth faith, toucheth the apple of our eye. Here is 
love, here you may deride or honour, as you please % but faith 
and the Word you must revere and esteem most devoutly. 
This we demand of you. Of our love expect everything you 
choose ; but our faith dread in all things. I felt disinclined to 
answer your cardinal, because of not being able safely to 
adopt a middle course, not knowing whether to commend him 
for uprightness, or to censure him for hypocrisy. But from 
you he will learn Luther's spirit. And if I find that he is 
sincere, I shall instantly pour out my whole heart to him and 
cast myself at his feet. May God protect you, my dear Fa- 
bricius, and doubt not, but that my heart is upright towards 
you. You yourself perceive that this is a great and hoty cause. 
And here we must beware, lest we love our brethren and 
sisters more than Christ From my solitude, on the day of 
Antonius (17th Jan.), 1522." 

Luther, on hearing that his brethren, the Augustines at Wit- 
tenberg, had begun to omit the daily private mass, further wrote 
a treatise "Concerning the abuse of the mass," for, though he 
was highly rejoiced at this step, perceiving from it that the 
Word of Christ was exerting its influence upon them, he never- 
theless was apprehensive as to the result, if they should be 
assailed on account of it. " I well know," he wrote to them, 
" that if you are established upon the rock, no fury of the wind 
or waves can harm you ; but if you rest upon the sand, a 
speedy and severe fall awaits } T ou. I daily experience, in my- 
self, how very difficult it is to set at liberty a conscience, for a 
long time held in captivity by the traditions of men. Oh, what 



222 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



labour and trouble has it not cost me to satisfy my conscience, 
even with the plain declarations of Holy Writ, for having 
ventured singly and alone to rise up against the pope ! And 
because J have experienced this in myself and well weighed 
the matter, I have deemed it proper to address to you this 
communication, for the comfort and encouragement of the 
weak, who are not able to endure the storm and violence of 
opposition and of a despairing conscience." Now in this 
treatise concerning the mass, Luther says: Because in the 
New Testament there is only one priest, who, for the sake of 
reconciling the human race, and obtaining complete forgiveness 
for the sins of the whole world, did, on the high altar of the 
cross once for all, offer himself as a sacrifice agreeable to the 
will of the Father; the holy sacrament, which believers eat 
and drink, according to the injunction of Christ, in remembrance 
of his death, can in no wise be a sacrifice or satisfaction for 
the sins of the living, much less for those of the dead in purga- 
tory, or for huntsmen and merchants, who for the sake of success 
in their pursuits engage the monks to say a mass. Therefore 
the daily sacrifice of the mass may well, and should, according 
to the Scriptures, be abolished. 

At the same time, there also was published the writing: 
Devotis monasticis M. Lutheri judicium, ("Martin Luther's 
opinion concerning spiritual and monastic vows.") In Saxony, 
Bartholomew Bernhardi, also called Feldkirchen, provost at 
Kemberg, had been the first to venture on entering the married 
state. Luther approved of the step, and, upon the whole, re- 
garded the marriage of priests as altogether lawful, because 
Paul calls the prohibition of the same a doctrine of devils ; with 
respect to the monks, however, he still entertained doubts, and 
he was not quite satisfied with the way and the manner in 
which Karlstadt defended the matter. He was apprehensive 
that the latter, if he did not adduce better grounds from the 
Scriptures, might cause a deplorable state of things; and he 
considered it dangerous, by means of insufficient and uncer- 
tain passages from the Scriptures, to induce so large a number 
of unmarried people to enter the married state, and thus in the 
end occasion them continual and worse conscientious scruples 
than before. Notwithstanding this, he maintained that monastic 
vows ought to be disapproved and recalled, if they had been 
rendered with a view to obtain salvation and righteousness 
through them ; and in support of this position he sent several 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



223 



theses to Wittenberg. At last, however, he arrived at the firm 
and unwavering conclusion, that we must confide in the Gos- 
pel, and forsaking all these vows, no matter under what 
circumstances, with what view, and at what time they might 
have been rendered, return to Christian freedom, and, ac- 
cordingly, writing the treatise referred to, he (under date of 
the 21st Novemb., 1521) dedicated it to his father, who had 
been so greatly dissatisfied that his son had, without his 
knowledge and consent, become a monk, in order that the 
same might from this book perceive, " with what signs" — as he 
writes — " powers, and miracles, Christ has delivered me from 
the vow of monasticism, and bestowed upon me such exceed- 
ing freedom, that, although he has made me a servant to all 
men, he nevertheless has subjected me to no one, except to 
himself alone. For He alone, without any one being interme- 
diate, is, as they call it, my Bishop, Abbot, Prior, Lord, Father, 
Master ; I know of no other. And 1 trust that he took your son 
from you, in order now through me to afford help to many 
others of his sons." 

In the beginning of the book he says : " That the dispute 
here is not concerning whether vows are to be observed, 
but what are true and proper vows, God himself having, 
in the Scriptures, enjoined the observance of vows ; wherefore 
it is necessary to make a distinction between vows, and to ob- 
serve which are Christian, good and acceptable to God, and 
which are ungodly wicked and displeasing to him." He then 
contends against monastic vows with the following arguments : 
1. " They are not based upon any Word of God, but are opposed 
to God's Word." He here refutes the two false arguments, 
which are advanced in support of monastic vows, and which 
are derived from the distinction between evangelical counsels 
and commands, and between the state of perfection and imper- 
fection. 2. " They are directly opposed to faith, inasmuch as 
all, who render such vows, entertain the opinion, not only, 
that, by their monastic lives, they become pious themselves, 
blot out sin and earn heaven, but hope also, with their good 
works, to attain to such perfection, as, from the superabundant 
treasure of the same, to be able to communicate and to sell 
to others, and thus to save them at the same time with them- 
selves, whilst, in truth, nothing avails to obtain salvation 
with God, except the perfect merits of Christ, embraced 
through faith. And although good works must of necessity 



224 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



follow, yet do they not merit anything, but are simply fruits, 
springing forth from faith and love ; in other words, from the 
forgiveness of sin and the good conscience already obtained 
through Christ." 3. " They are opposed to Christian freedom. 
Christian freedom is a freedom of conscience, through which 
conscience becomes free from works, not in such a way that 
none are to be performed, but that it does not depend upon 
any, making such a distinction between the works of Christ 
and its own works, as to lay hold upon the works of Christ ; 
and through them becoming free and delivered from all sin and 
all evil. But as to its own works, it perceives which are evil, 
and condemns them, overcomes them too, however, and de- 
spises them, through the works of Christ, if faith be really 
present. But its own good works conscience contemplates 
and argues thus : that they are to be performed freely, gratui- 
tously, for the good of our neighbour, and to exercise the flesh, 
but by no means with a view, through them, to attain to 
righteousness, peace, satisfaction and forgiveness of sin. For 
all this it seeks, and finds nowhere else but in the works of ^ 
Christ, through a firm faith. And thus the conscience of a 
Christian is free both from its own good as well as from its 
own evil works, so that it neither depends upon those that are 
good, nor despairs on account of those that are evil. It surfers 
neither the one nor the other to affect it, but looks upon both 
precisely as if they were nothing, and abides in the works of 
Christ, relying upon these as .being made its own. From 
which it is perceptible, that the whole canon law and the go- 
vernment of the pope are opposed to Christ and damnable, 
since they bind men to their own works and draw them away 
from Christ, thus not only destroying this freedom itself, but 
also the doctrine and knowledge of it." — 4. " They are opposed 
to the commandments of God, not only of the first table, but 5. 
likewise of the second table or to love ; and, finally, 6. also to 
reason." He then examines the three chief vows, which are 
deemed immutable, and shows how, in reality, and according 
to experience, all is mere hypocrisy, and false pretence, or is, 
at the least, wholly useless, and even perhaps defiled and cor- 
rupted by sin and many abominations. Concerning the vow 
of poverty he says : " As to the outward use of temporal goods, 
monks and nuns deceive and mock themselves and everybody 
else, since no class of men have more to do with interests, 
moneys, rents, and worldly goods, than themselves, none more 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 225 

seek their own profit ; and thus, under the appearance of the 
holy vow of poverty, they are the most avaricious men in the 
world, the very men, who most of all strive about temporal 
possessions at the courts of princes and of justice." Further, 
concerning the vow of obedience : " Now let us observe what 
monks and nuns vow. Their words, if properly interpreted, 
according to their true meaning, will run thus : " Lord God, 
I vow to thee, that I will not, as thy Gospel requires, be sub- 
ject to all, even the lowest, but only to my abbot, prior or 

new prelate." " The vow does not permit you to be 

subject to all men, to serve them, have patience with them, 
and sympathy for them.- The Gospel, however, requires you 
to be subject to all men ; therefore the two are in direct op- 
position to each other, as fire and water. The obedience of 
married people towards each other, of children towards their 
parents, of servants towards their lords, (which the Apostle 
Paul also, in all his epistles, inculcates,) of prisoners and 
others, is much holier and better than the obedience of monks." 
—Finally, concerning the vow of chastity he says : " That vir- 
ginity is a noble, praiseworthy virtue, if no merit is sought in 
it, and a person does not wish on account of it to be considered 
pious, and especially, if God himself has bestowed upon a man 
the exalted and noble gift of chastity ; but as to that chastity 
which men vow of themselves, general experience sadly demon- 
strates to every person's comprehension, how chastity is ob- 
served by monks, nuns, priests, and others, who avoid the mar- 
ried state and boast of their chastity. That many endowed in- 
stitutions and cloisters had become nothing but bawdy houses." 
Finally, Luther says, "that he hopes so to have confirmed 
and established everything with clear Scripture proof and 
weighty substantial reasons, that it will suffice, not only to 
stop the mouths of the adversaries, but also, to make the con- 
science peacefully confident toward God, and to set it free, it 
being his diligent purpose to arm and to strengthen the con- 
science against Satan, and to instruct it how to appear accept- 
ably at the judgment-seat of Christ." " Therefore," says he 
in conclusion, " I here, for the sake of God and of Christ, ear- 
nestly pray all who may adopt my advice in this case, and who 
wish to forsake the monasteries and nunneries and return to 
freedom, above all things carefully to examine their consciences, 
and to see that they do not begin this business simply for the 
sake of engaging in something new, or from contempt and 

15 



226 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



hatred of men. For such will not prove victorious in the hour 
of death, when Satan will harass their conscience and accuse 
them of having acted in opposition to the statutes of men, &c. ; 
but they will take refuge in an ungodly repentance, and thus the 
last case will be worse than the first. For here we must be 
able to lay hold on the pure and clear Word of God, so as with 
it also to appear at the bar of God ; knowing that he is true 
and cannot deny himself. What we would now have to observe 
further here, has already been amply stated above, namely, 
that Christ alone is to be our Master, Guide, Light, Being and 
Life, and that everything invented by men to afford a sure 
ground for obtaining rest and peace, is useless and insufficient. 
This our King, Peace, Light, and Life, enlighten, quicken and 
strengthen our hearts in his own power and holy Word to 
eternal life. To him be praise and honour forever. Amen. 
1 Pet. ii. 16, As free and not using your liberty as a cloak of 
maliciousness. Paul, Gal. v. 13, For, brethren, you have been 
called unto liberty ; only use not liberty for an occasion to the 
. flesh. 39 

Concerning the most important work which Luther under- 
took at the Wartburg, he gave information to his friend John 
Lange, under date of the 18th December, 1521: "I intend 
meanwhile to translate the New Testament into German. Our 
friends insist on my doing so. I understand that you are like- 
wise labouring at it. Continue as you have begun. Would 
to God that every town had its interpreter, and that this book 
alone were upon the tongues and in the hands, eyes, ears and 
hearts of all." Luther subsequently observed : " that Magister 
Phil. Melanchthon had compelled him to translate the New 
Testament into German ; for he had perceived that here one 
was translating the Gospel by Matthew, there another that by 
Luke ; so he in like manner had been anxious again to bring 
to light and to a proper estimation the Epistles of St Paul, 
which had become somewhat obscure and dark." He likewise 
said, that when he began to translate the Bible itself into Ger- 
man, he " had entertained the hope that there would be less 
of writing and studying and more of reading in the Holy Scrip- 
tures ; as all other writings, too, were to point men to the 
Scriptures. For, certainly, neither the councils, nor the Fath- 
ers, nor we, though we exert ourselves to the utmost, will 
produce anything as good as the Holy Scriptures, that is, as 
God himself has produced. Let no one who is resolved to 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



227 



have my books at this time permit them to prevent him from 
studying the Scriptures themselves. The Bible is such a book 
which makes the wisdom of all other books seem folly, because 
not one can give instruction concerning eternal life except this 
alone. In the prosecution of the work itself, Luther soon dis- 
covered that he had imposed upon himself altogether too 
heavy a burden. " Now I experience," he wrote, under date of 
the 13th Jan. 1522, to Amsdorf, "what translating is, and why 
no one has thus far undertaken such a work, who has affixed 
his name to it. But I doubt whether I shall be able to touch 
the Old Testament, unless you are present to assist. And if 
any one of you could, perhaps, afford me some retired little 
chamber or other, I would soon come, and with your assistance 
begin to translate the whole from the beginning, and make 
such a translation of it as should deserve to be read by Chris- 
tians. For I trust we would give our Germans a better trans- 
lation than the Latins have. It is a great work, and deserves 
that we should all labour at it, for it is a work which concerns 
all and serves the common good." And to Melanchthon : " have 
a lodging in readiness for me, for the translation will compel 
me to return to you, and do you pray the Lord, that it may be 
done with his permission. I wish, however, to remain con- 
cealed as long as possible, and in the meantime shall proceed 
as 1 have begun." 

Authorities. — Gerbelii ep. ad Lutherum in Seckend., com. p. 161. 
Diirer's Journal (where first printed ?). The imperial proscription, Works, 
vol. 17, p. 596. Let., vol. 2, No. 316-319, 322. Mathes. 4. Pred. Let., 
No. 335, 324-328, 331, 343. The explanation of the 68th Ps. Works, 
vol. 6, p. 256 (compare Let. No. 321). The writing concerning confes- 
sion, vol. 17, p. 692. Mathes. as before. Rationis Latomianse, pro in- 
cendiariis Lovanensis Scholae sophistis redditae confutatio in the Opp. 
Jen. T. II, 379. Let. No. 325, 339, 340. Mathes. as above. Works, 
vol. 13, p. 9, vol. 19, p. 438. Let. No. 346, 352, 335. Works, vol. 17, 
p. 605. Let., No. 359, 350. (Mathes. as above), 332-336 (comp. 
Seckend., p. 17 i). The writing concerning monastic vows, Works, vol. 
18, p. 54. Let. No. 354. Hall. ed. of the Works, vol. 22, p. 2396. 
Works, vol. 22. App. p. 144. Let. No. 357, 358. 

Notes. — 1.) Pallavicinus relates, that the papal legates came very 
near losing their lives at Worms, in consequence of the report being 
spread, that Luther had been found slain. 

2.) The papal legate Aleander was the author of this edict, which 
was not produced before the 26th of May, but, as at that time most of 
the estates had left Worms, it was dated back to the eighth of May, that 



228 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



it might have the appearance of having been unanimously adopted. So 
Seekendorf, according to Sleidan and Pallavicinus. 

3. ) Even the elector's brother, Duke John, knew nothing of it, and 
they only with reluctance permitted Luther to despatch any letters, 
fearing the matter might be betrayed. According to Chytraus (Chron. 
Sax. lib. VIII. p. 253), the papists, in order to ascertain where Luther 
was concealed, even made inquiries of sorcerers. 

4. ) Luther was greatly concerned, lest, by his stay, he should occasion 
this his host expense, and he accordingly desired positive information of 
Spalatin, whether he lived at the Wartburg at the expense of the elector, 
Let. (No. 335). He always remained grateful to his host, subsequently 
intended to dedicate a book to him (Let. No. S12\ sent him his writings 
(Let. No. 377), <fcc. 

5. ) They had already been published in Latin. See p. 187. 



CHAPTER II. 

RETURN TO WITTENBERG. 

Melanchthon, on Luther's having been taken captive, had 
written to Wenceslaus Link : " Our dearest father lives ; but 
he longed greatly to see him, and congratulated himself on 
the day, when he would again be permitted to lock him in his 
embraces. "Our university prospers," he wrote, "only we 
have not our father Dr. Martin with us." And somewhat later : 
" Our Elijah is still absent from us, but we are waiting and 
looking for him. What shall I say further ? My anxiety to 
see him torments me exceedingly." Luther found fault with 
him,, that he did not more patiently bear the cross, and exalted 
him too much. "Even if I do perish, he had before written, 
it will be no detriment to the Gospel, for in this thou dost now 
excel me, and as an Elisha dost follow Elijah, with a double 
portion of the spirit, which may the Lord Jesus, in his mercy 
grant unto thee, Amen." He accordingly, too, rejoiced at it. 
that Wittenberg prospered, the more so, because this happened 
in his absence, to the vexation of the enemy, whose designs 
were in this way brought to naught. He, however, sought 
also to comfort and to strengthen "the poor little flock of 
Christ at Wittenberg," and sent to them an explanation of 
the 36th Psalm, writing at the same time : " After St. Paul had 
preached at many places and was now a captive at Rome, 
he still continued, by prayer to God, by comforting and strength- 
ening communications, to exercise care for those, whom he 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION, 



229 



had converted, of which his epistles give sufficient evidence. 
In imitation of this example, as we do not doubt but that by 
the grace of God we have heard and learned the true pure 
Gospel, which it has pleased God, partly through me, a frail 
man, to make known to you, I shall not, and cannot be uncon- 
cerned about it, whether or not wolves do after me enter the 
fold. And though, by the grace of God, you have so many 
others to supply my place, that there would be no need of my 
being thus concerned ; yet does the love of the Gospel constrain 

us to have even more than necessary care." — N But as I 

am not the man, who, like St Paul, can write and afford com- 
fort from the resources of his own mind, I have resolved to 
translate into German, and to accompany by brief remarks, the 
writing, which as St. Paul, Rom. 15, 4, says, is full of comfort, 
namely the 36th (37th) Psalm, which in my estimation, is ad- 
mirably adapted to the occasion, since it, in a peculiarly-lovely 
and soothing manner, calms the emotions of wrath against the 
blasphemers and malicious disturbers. For it truly excites 
pain, when the wicked not only blaspheme after all their 
hearts' desire, but also claim to be in the right, and demand 
honour for it, whilst, at the same time, they are active for a 
while, till their day comes." — In conclusion he says : " Herewith 
I commend you to God, and do you see to it, that you likewise 
practise faith, and do not suffer our Christianity to be a matter 
of mere words. Let not him who hath, forsake him that hath 
not ; but let him that hath not,, rely upon God, as this Psalm di- 
rects. I commend to you ail those that proclaim the Word to 
you ; for they are worthy of double honour, says St. Paul, 1 Tim. 
5, 17. Pray also for me, that I may once become pious. For I 
would not so much please the papists and grieve our Lord Christ, 
as to be concerned one hair-breadth on account of having to be 
absent from you. Through the grace of God I am still as coura- 
geous and as bold as I have ever been. I have become subject to 
a slight bodily infirmity, but it signifies nothing. Properly that 
ought not to perplex me, if I receive as I deserve. Be of good 
courage, and fear no one. The grace of God be with you. Amen." 

But because his congregation and pulpit at Wittenberg con- 
tinually occupied his mind — -as he then at one time, whilst at 
table, and deeply absorbed in thought, broke out into the 
ejaculation: " O, if I only were at Wittenberg!" — he resolved 
upon a journey, and arrived at Wittenberg sometime about 
November, taking up his abode with his travelling companion, 



230 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



Nicholas Amsdorf, being clad in a cloak of rank, like a noble- 
man, his cheeks, lips and chin covered with a bushy beard, so 
that his most intimate friends did not, at first, recognise him. 
Having then for several days conversed and rejoiced with his 
friends, whom he had caused to be invited to his lodging, he 
secretly again returned to the Wartburg. The reports which had 
reached him, had induced him to proceed to Wittenberg ; he 
was, however, very well satisfied with everything he at that 
time saw and heard. Nevertheless, already on his return jour- 
ney, various reports concerning the inconsiderate proceedings 
of some of his friends, caused him great anxiety, so that he re- 
solved upon publishing a general admonition as soon as he 
should have arrived in his solitude. 1 He was likewise dis- 
satisfied with the tumultuous manner in which the monks for- 
sook the cloisters, and wished much rather that they might by 
a general decree be peacefully dismissed. 

And this course the Augustines adopted, resolving at a con- 
vention which they held at Wittenberg : That it should be left 
to every one's conscience to remain in the cloister or not ; 
those that remained, should continue to wear the habit and 
observe the usual regulations ; mendicancy should he abolished, 
and every one should engage in labour ; the hired masses should 
be discontinued, &c. The elector, on hearing of these pro- 
ceedings, despatched his chancellor, Dr. George Briick, to the 
university, and by him several of their number were selected, 
to demand an account of the Augustine monks, which being 
done, they petitioned the elector to abolish the private masses 
throughout all his dominions, and in this not to fear the re- 
proach of being a heretic or a Hussite, since Christ, who had 
graciously bestowed upon him above all princes such Gospel 
light, required it of him to do so. The elector was disposed to 
do everything becoming a Christian prince : he did not, however, 
wish to proceed rashly in the matter, but to have a deputation 
of the university and of the chapter to consult upon it. 

But before anything was resolved upon, there arose various 
disturbances. For when Satan could not prejudice the doc- 
trines of Luther, neither through the learned, nor through the 
pope and the Roman emperor, or the universities, of Germany 
and France, he bethought himself of other means to oppose 
Luther and to do injury to his cause, by means of false spirits 
and sects; attempting this, according to his manner, in the 
very heart of the church at Wittenberg, at the place, where the 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



231 



Gospel had first come to light again, and employing for this 
purpose in particular Dr. Andrew Karhtadt, who had before 
been Luther's fellow-combatant and assistant at the Leipzig 
discussion. The latter, whilst Luther was absent in his Patmos, 
occasioned great confusion at Wittenberg from a misapprehen- 
sion of Christian freedom. For after they had learned that a 
Christian life does not consist in outward display, images, 
dress, fasting, eating or drinking, &c, but in spirit and in faith, 
and that the eating of meat, eggs, &c, is not prohibited by 
God, but that it is at all times allowed to use them with 
thanksgiving ; and that the pope has not the power to enjoin 
auricular confession : he and others proceeded rashly, over- 
threw the private masses, assailed and burned the images, 
destroyed the altars, abolished auricular confession, suffered 
the singing and the ceremonies of the Church to fall into 
disuse, refused any longer to use chalices and patens, went 
hastily to the sacrament without being examined or having 
announced themselves, pretending to assert their Christian 
freedom in these things. They did not cause any sermon to 
precede the same, by means of which men's hearts might, 
from the Word of God, have first been instructed concerning 
true godliness, and have been freed from their erroneous 
opinions ; they did not proceed with the consent and knowledge 
of the authorities ; neither did they concern themselves, whether, 
by their proceedings, they became the occasion of offence and 
stumbling to the weak : but everything, done by them, was 
the result of their own wicked presumption and vain-glorious 
spirit. They pretended to be urged to this course by the 
first commandment and Christian freedom, and to be filled 
with the Holy Ghost ; condemning as heretics all who did 
not coincide with them. 

At Zwickau there had before this already arisen various 
disturbances, especially concerning infant baptism. On the 
third Christmas holy-day, three of the ringleaders in these 
affairs arrived at Wittenberg, two of them uneducated men, 
clothiers, (Nicholas Storch and Thomas Marx,) the third (Mar- 
cus Stiibner) a man of education. Melanchthon gave them a 
hearing. They had marvellous things to say of themselves, &c. 
That they had, by a distinct voice of God, been called to teach ; 
that God had free converse with them ; that they could see into 
the future; that, in short, they were prophetical and apostolical 
men. Melanchthon thought that there was a spirit in them, be 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



it what it might; but that no one could rightly judge of it, 
except Luther. And that, as the Gospel, the honour and peace 
of the church, were in danger here, it was by all means to be 
arranged that these men might have an opportunity to converse 
with Luther, for to him they likewise appealed. 

When the elector, to whom Melanchthon and Amsdorf had 
written concerning this matter, demanded of them to come 
to Prettin, causing Haubold von Einsiedel and Spalatin to 
inquire of them : *' What could possibly have induced them 
to write so earnestly to his electoral highness concerning 
these affairs?" Melanchthon repeated, that it was highly ne- 
cessary to obtain Dr. Martin's judgment in regard to this 
business; and Amsdorf said : " That he had not been desirous 
either to converse with these men or to see them, being 
himself an inexperienced pupil in the Scriptures, and they 
pretending things so unheard of and lofty. That they ought 
not to be rashly credited, nor ought they to be despised, till 
they had first been heard and examined." Upon receiving 
this report the elector observed: "This is a great and im- 
portant* matter, which I as a layman do not understand. 
Now my good God has bestowed upon my brother and myself 
considerable poverty. If now I understood these matters, I 
would, sooner than knowingly act against God, take my staff 
into my hand, and, forsaking all, depart." But that Luther 
should proceed to Wittenberg to examine those men, the elector 
would not advise. He said, that he had so far only taken 
Martin's part, that, inasmuch as he had offered to submit to 
justice, he might not be overpowered by a resort to violence. 
That, if he should now proceed to Wittenberg and anything 
adverse should happen to him in consequence, it would truly 
grieve him, for since his imperial majesty was his lord, he 
was constrained to obey his majesty. 

Luther himself, to whom Melanchthon likewise had written 
concerning the Zwickau prophets, censured his friend for being 
so timid, whilst he was so superior to himself in spirit and 
learning. In the first place he thought, that as they bore 
witness of themselves, they ought not to be immediately be- 
lieved, but the advice of John, to try the spirits, should be fol- 
lowed. That they had the advice of Gamaliel, to abide the 
issue of the matter. That he had thus far not heard of their 
having spoken or done anything, which Satan could not likewise 
do and imitate. That inquiry should be made, whether they 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



233 



could substantiate their commission : since God never had sent 
any one, without calling him through another or confirming 
his mission by signs, from which rule even his own Son had 
not been excluded. That they ought not by any means to be 
received, if they based their commission solely upon the reve- 
lation granted them. So much in reference to their being au- 
thorized to teach publicly. But as regarded their own spirit, 
he should only inquire, whether they had experienced spiritual 
trials and the divine birth, death and hell. That, if he heard 
them speak only of lovely, soothing, devout, as they were called, 
and holy, things, he should not credit them, though they should 
boast of having been entranced up into the third heaven; as 
here the sign of the Son of Man would be wanting, that being 
the only true touchstone to try Christians, and safely to distin- 
guish the spirits. Having also in detail treated of infant bap- 
tism, he adds: " I always expected that the devil would touch 
upon this matter ; but it was not 'to be through the papists : 
among ourselves and our own people he attempts to create this 
great schism, but Christ will soon trample him under our feet. " 

Upon the whole, Luther thought, that on account of these 
prophets he would not come ; but that, having daily to hear 
more important things concerning Wittenberg, he certainly 
would, on account of them, if God permitted him, shortly return, 
and take up his abode, if not at Wittenberg, somewhere else. 
The elector should be unconcerned about him. 

To the Wittenbergers, however, he wrote concerning the 
innovations among them: 3 That he could not always be with 
them. That every one was required to die for himself. But 
that no one could prove victorious, unless during his life he 
had well learned and applied those passages, which afford com- 
fort against sin. That by nature we are all sinners, but that 
Christ had borne our infirmity in his life and death. That as 
Christ had dealt towards us, so we also must deal towards 
our neighbour. "These innovations in regard to the mass, im- 
ages, and the receiving of the sacrament with the hands, besides 
other unimportant, insignificant things, have been introduced, 
but faith and love have been forsaken ; just as if all the world 
around possessed a correct knowledge in reference to these 
things, which, however is not the case, and thus many pious 
people have been drawn into the movement which is the verita- 
ble work of Satan. It would doubtless be well to make a be- 
ginning with these matters, if we all had equal faith, the whole 



234 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



congregation being satisfied, so that no one would take offence 
But that will never be the case. We cannot all be as learned 
as Karistadt. Therefore we must yield to those that are weak, 
or else those that are strong will haste on and advance, and 
those that are weak and cannot keep pace with them will 
perish. God has given us his Word and shown himself very 
gracious to those at Wittenberg. With all this, 1 do not dis- 
cover among you the least love. How much more ought you 
not to bear with those, who have never heard the Word ! We 
have still many brethren and sisters dwelling at Leipzig, in the 
country of Meissen, and in other places around : those, too, we 
must take with us to heaven. And though Duke George and 
many others are now excited on account of these things, and 
enraged against us, we must not the less bear with them and 
hope the best of them. But now this business has been hastily 
and rashly begun, and carried through by main force ; with 
this I am not satisfied, of that be assured ; and when it comes to 
the issue, I shall not stand by you in this affair. You have 
begun it without me ; therefore see to it, how you may carry 
it through without me- What you have done, is not right, 
though Karistadt and his consorts should have asserted it to be 
so again and again. You have enticed many wretched con- 
sciences into the movement, who have partaken of the sacra- 
ment and received it with their hands, have torn down the 
images, and eaten eggs and meat during Lent. If in the hour 
of death and trial, they should have to give an account to Satan 
for it, they would not in the least be able to justify themselves 
against him. Such distress thou hast caused by so inconsider- 
ately entering upon this business, and yet dost thou claim the 
praise for it of being a Christian, and better than others. But 
thou errest exceedingly ; thou wishest to serve God by it, and 
knowest not that thou art only the precursor of Satan. Believe 
me I know Satan well, and better than well; he has begun this 
matter only for the purpose of dishonouring the newly-revived 
Word. He has led thee to engage in this little piece of folly, 
the receiving of the sacrament with the hands, the eating of 
eggs and of meat, that thou mightest meanwhile forget faith 
and love. And I cannot think otherwise but that those who 
have played this game, have sought their own honour; Satan 
has accordingly also given them their reward." Having then 
further shown what difference should be observed between 
dealing with those that are obstinate and those that are weak, 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



235 



that towards the latter, namely, patience and discretion should 
be exercised, it being necessary, as St. Paul — Heb. v. 13 — says, 
To nourish them with milk because of their yet being babes in the 
faith, he proceeds: " When a child is newly born, it at first re- 
ceives only the gentlest food, that is, milk ; afterwards some- 
what stronger diet, as marmalade and pap, till it increases in 
strengih, when it receives meat and bread, &c. So here too, 
thou must have patience with thy neighbour, till he at- 
tains to a strength equal to thine. When St. Paul was with 
the Jews he conformed to their manners ; with the heathens to 
theirs. Now that thou hast extracted nourishment sufficient 
and become strong, dost thou intend to destroy the source, so 
that the rest may not likewise obtain nourishment V If all 
children, who cannot immediately eat, should be cast off by 
their mothers, what would have become of thee ? My good 
friend, if thou hast extracted nourishment enough and attained 
to full growth, do thou also, permit others to obtain nourish- 
ment and to attain to maturity." 

But as affairs at Wittenberg were daily becoming more 
burdensome to Melancthon, and he perceived that he could 
not stem the flood, whilst at the same time he was fully sen- 
sible of the greatness of the impending danger ; both he and 
others continually urged Luther in their letters, that he might 
return. Upon this Luther (some time towards the close of 
February) wrote to the elector: "To my most gracious lord, 
Duke Frederick, Elector of Saxony , for personal perusal. Grace 
and happiness, from God the Father, by way of congratulation 
for the new relic. Such salutation I write at this time, my 
most gracious lord, instead of tendering my submission. Your 
princely grace has now, for many years, been making efforts 
in all directions, to obtain relics ; 4 but now God has complied 
with the anxious wish of your princely grace, and sent home 
free of all charge and trouble, an entire cross, with nails, spears 
and scourges. I say again : Grace and prosperity from God 
in view of the new relic. But let not your princely grace be 
terrified, but joyfully extend the arms, and permit the nails to 
pierce deeply, yea, thank God and rejoice : thus all who wish 
to have the Word of God, must necessarily learn, not only that 
Annas and Caiaphas rave, but also that Judas is among the 
apostles, and Satan among the children of God. Your princely 
grace should be discreet and wise, and not judge according to 
reason or the appearance of things, and be not dismayed ; 



236 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



affairs have not yet come to the point to which Satan means 
to bring them. I pray your princely grace to give credit to 
me, fool that I am, for I know these and similar spirits of Sa- 
tan, therefore I am not in the least terrified, and that vexes 
him. All this is only the beginning. Let the world clamour 
and condemn, suffer to fall who may, even Peter and the 
apostles ; they will no doubt 'return on the third day, when 
Christ arises again. What is written in 2 Cor. vi. 4, 5. Ex- 
hibeamus nos in seditionibus, &c, must also be fulfilled in us. 
I pray your princely grace to accept this in kindness ; because 
of great haste, the pen was driven along with speed ; I am at 
a loss for further time. / shall myself, if God permit, soon be 
present. But let your princely grace avoid all interference in 
my favour." 

Upon this the elector informed Luther, through John Oswald, 
mayor of Eisenach, (p. 190,) " That Luther well knew how the 
command of his electoral grace had accomplished nothing in 
this affair ; that they had attempted many strange things at 
Wittenberg, and were not agreed as to these matters among 
themselves. That at Wittenberg, and elsewhere, one cele- 
brated mass one way ; another, another way. That, as a con- 
sequence, many students were leaving, and several princes 
had called away their subjects on account of it. That his 
electoral grace, now, did not know what would be the best 
course to be pursued under such circumstances. As he had 
written, therefore, that his electoral grace should only be dis- 
creet and wise, and not judge according to reason and the 
appearance of things, it was the gracious desire of his elec- 
toral grace, that he would inform his electoral grace what he 
meant and deemed to be best for his electoral grace to do or 
to omit in this matter ; since his electoral grace would not at 
all wish to do or to attempt anything which might be opposed 
to the will of God and to his holy Word. Neither did his 
electoral grace wish to see anything done which might be 
unjust, or from which insurrection and trouble might arise. 
That the imperial government at Nuremburg had written to 
his electoral grace concerning this subject ; that, besides, 
several bishops, as the one at Meissen, now intimated that 
they intended, either themselves to preach, or to appoint others 
to preach, in those places where the people were considered 
as having been led into error. That as Luther, towards the 
close of his letter, had intimated his intention of soon being 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION- 



237 



present himself, &c, his electoral grace did not know whether 
he meant by that to indicate his intention of again returning 
to Wittenberg. That if this really was his design, his electoral 
grace was of opinion that he ought not yet by any means to 
betake himself thither. That if his abode at Wittenberg 
should become known, and the pope and his imperial majesty 
should, in accordance with their mandate on this subject, in- 
stitute further proceedings against him ; or if they should 
further enjoin his electoral grace to deliver him up, — of the 
justice of which his electoral grace was not yet convinced, he 
being yet unvanquished, — this his electoral grace would regard 
as one of the greatest grievances. That he knew, moreover, 
how his electoral grace had so far favoured him and his cause 
no further, than upon his humble and submissive offer to abide 
by the decision of justice, submissively to intercede for him 
with his imperial majesty, for a gracious hearing. That his 
electoral grace could not in future sustain him in his cause on 
any other ground than because he was not yet vanquished, he 
himself too having written that his electoral grace should not 
at all interfere in his favour. But if, in case he should again 
return to Wittenberg, his electoral grace were to refuse the 
demand of the pope and his imperial majesty, and not render 
obedience to them, without having sufficient cause for such 
refusal, he would have to consider what results would flow 
from it to his electoral grace, his dominions and people. That, 
if his electoral grace, however, truly and assuredly knew what 
was right and good, according to the will of God, his electoral 
grace would be fully disposed, for the sake of it, to suffer and 
to endure all that might be imposed upon him, for his electoral 
grace would not for himself consider this any burden. If this 
were the true cross and relic sent by God, his electoral grace 
would not dread it : but because God had said, that his yoke 
was easy and his burden light, would willingly bear the cross, 
if he knew that it was of God, not doubting but that God 
would aid and strengthen his electoral grace for this purpose. 
That things were assuming so strange and so various a char- 
acter at Wittenberg, however, and so many sects were arising, 
that all was confusion, and no one knew what to believe or 
what to do. That it would, moreover, be exceedingly grievous 
to his electoral grace, if other people likewise should be sub- 
jected to any injury or grievances on account of his electoral 
grace." The elector having yet in conclusion informed him 



238 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



that, sometime about the middle of Lent, a new Diet was to be 
convoked, that his affair would then probably likewise be 
treated of, on which account it might be well for him mean- 
while patiently to refrain himself, till it would appear what 
phase matters were likely to assume ; he nevertheless, on the 
other hand, assured him : " that if in this way the will and 
work of God should be hindered, his electoral grace would be 
grieved, and therefore wished to have everything referred to 
his own judgment, as one who was experienced in such lofty 
affairs." 

This communication Luther received the evening before his 
intended departure from the Wartburg. He replied to it on 
his way, being now at Borna, on Ash Wednesday, (the 5th 
March, 1522,) by his guide. He in the first place excused 
himself for having written, that his electoral grace should act 
wisely. That he had not, by employing such language, meant 
to reflect upon the highly-renowned wisdom of his electoral 
grace; "but," said he, "1 wished to comfort your electoral 
grace, not with regard to my affair, of which I did not at that 
time think, but with regard to the uncouth proceedings at Wit- 
tenberg, in which, greatly to the reproach of the Gospel, our 
people have engaged. On account of these things, I appre- 
hended } 7 our electoral grace would be exceedingly grieved ; 
for I myself have been distressed by this affair to such a 
degree, that if I had not been certain that we have the pure 

Gospel, I should have been led to despair of our cause." 

"But as regards my cause, most gracious lord, I answer thus : 
Your electoral grace knows, or if the same does not know, let 
it herewith be known to your grace, that I have received the 
Gospel, not from men, but alone from Heaven, through our 
Lord Jesus Christ, so that I might well (as I also intend in 
future to do) have boasted and subscribed myself a servant 
and evangelist. But that I offered to submit to investigations 
and decisions, was done, not from doubt of the justice of rny 
cause, but from exceeding humility, to win over others. Since 
I, however, now perceive that my over-great humility is tend- 
ing to the disparagement of the Gospel, and that Satan, where 
I yield him only one hand-breadth of space, is endeavouring to 
occupy the whole ground, I am constrained, for conscience' 
sake, to act differently. I have sufficiently gratified your 
electoral grace, in that I have yielded this year, out of obedi- 
ence to your electoral grace. For Satan very well knows, 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



239 



that I did not do so from anything like fear. He well saw my 
heart, on my entering Worms, to be so disposed, that if I had 
known, that as many devils were lying in wait for me as 
there are tiles upon the house-tops, 1 would, notwithstanding, 
joyfully have leaped into the very midst of them. Now Duke 
George is far from being equal to a single devil. 5 And since 
the Father of unbounded mercy has, through the Gospel, made 
us joyful lords over all devils and death, and bestowed upon 
us the richness of confidence, that we can venture to say to 
him, Dearest Father, — your electoral grace will yourself per- 
ceive, that it is casting the greatest reproach upon such a 
Father, not also to trust Him for making us lords over the 
wrath of Duke George. Thus much I verily know of myself, 
that, if Leipzig were the scene of these transactions in place 
of Wittenberg, I would nevertheless ride in, even though (may 
your electoral grace pardon the foolishness of my language !) 
it should rain nothing, for nine days, but Duke Georges, and 
every one of them should be nine times more furious than this 
one is. He looks upon my Lord Christ as upon a man of 
straw; this my Lord and I can for a time well endure. 1 shall 
not, however, conceal from your electoral grace, that I have, 
not once only, prayed and wept for Duke George, that God 
would enlighten him. I shall, too, once more, pray and weep; 
afterwards, no more forever. And 1 pray, that your electoral 
grace likewise would aid us with your prayers, and cause in- 
tercessions to be made, if perhaps we might ward off from him 
the woe which is pressing in upon him, without ceasing. I 
would speedily destroy Duke George with a single word, if 
that were the object. This 1 have written to your electoral 
grace, for the purpose of showing your electoral grace, that I 
proceed to Wittenberg under a far higher protection than that 
of the elector. Nor do I at all intend to request protection from 
your electoral grace. Yea, I conceive that I could protect your 
electoral grace more than the same could protect me. And if I 
knew that your electoral grace could or would protect me, I would 
not come. This cause is not to be and cannot be assisted or pro- 
moted by means of the sword; God alone must do all here, without 
any human interference or addition. Therefore he who believes 
most will here protect most. As I, according^, perceive that 
your electoral grace is still very weak in the faith, I can by no 
means look upon your electoral grace as the man who is able 
to protect or rescue me. And as your electoral grace further 



240 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



desires to know what the same ought to do in this matter, 
conceiving to have done far too little, I answer submissively : 
That your electoral grace has already done far too much, 
and ought to do nothing at all. For God will not and cannot 
endure the interference and management of your electoral 
grace or myself. He will have the sole control, this and 
nothing else ; this may serve your electoral grace for a guide. 
If your electoral grace believes this, you will be safe and have 
peace ; if your highness does not believe, still I believe and 
must permit the unbelief of your electoral grace to torment 
itself with cares, which is the just punishment of all that do 
not believe. Since I, therefore, refuse to obey your electoral 
grace, your electoral grace is exculpated before God, if I am 
taken captive or put to death. With regard to men, your 
electoral grace is to act thus : namely, as an elector, to obey 
the powers that be, and to permit his imperial majesty to ex- 
ercise authority in the cities and the dominions of your elec- 
toral grace, over body and property, as the regulations of the 
realm require, and by no means to resist or to oppose, nor to 
desire any opposition or hindrance to his authority, in case he 
designs to take me captive or to put me to death. For au- 
thority no one is to resist or to oppose, except alone He who 
has instituted it ; otherwise it is rebellion, and against God. 
But I trust that they will so much conform to the dictates of 
reason, as to consider your electoral grace born in a higher 
station, than to be made jailor over me. If your electoral 
grace offer no resistance, and observe the free electoral safe- 
conduct, in case they themselves or their envoys come to take 
me away, your electoral grace has rendered the requisite obe- 
dience. They certainly cannot demand anything further of 
your electoral grace, than to be assured of Luther's being 
with your electoral grace. And in this they shall be gratified, 
without your electoral grace being exposed to any vexation, 
trouble, or danger. For Christ has not taught me to be a 
Christian to the injury of any one. But if they should withal 
be so unreasonable as to command your electoral grace your- 
self to lay violent hands on me, I will inform your electoral 
grace what is to be done. I will secure your electoral grace 
against injury and danger, as to body, property and soul, as 
far as my cause is concerned, whether your electoral grace 
believe it or believe it not. Herewith I commend your elec- 
toral grace to the blessing of God. We shall very soon resume 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION^ 



241 



the subject, if necessary. For this letter I have despatched in 
haste, that your electoral grace might not be grieved at the 
report of my arrival ; for I am to striye and must strive to 
afford comfort to every one, and not to prove injurious to any, 
if I wish to be a Christian. It is a different man from Duke 
George with whom I have to deal: he knows me very well, 
and I well know him. If your electoral grace believed, you 
would behold the glory of God ; but as your electoral grace 
does not believe, you do not behold anything. To God be love 
and praise forever. Amen." 

On his journey, Luther, being clad as a nobleman in the 
habit of a knight, took up his lodging at the inn of the High 
Lily at Erfurt, without being recognised, and, whilst at table, 
became engaged in conversation with a papal priest, who de- 
clared himself prepared to point out to any one a hundred errors 
in Luther's books ; but on being desired to designate only two 
or three errors, he could give no answer. At the inn of the 
Black Bear, at Jena, he met with two Swiss travellers, John 
Kessler and John Reutiner, of which meeting the former gives 
this account in his journal. 

" In the room we found a man sitting at the table alone, 
with a book lying before him ; he greeted us kindly and de- 
sired us to seat ourselves near him at the table. Upon this he 
offered us to drink so that we could not refuse him. Having 
thus perceived his affability and kindness, we seated ourselves 
near him at the table (as he had desired) and calling for a 
measure of wine, we, as respect required, in return offered him 
to drink thereof ; not thinking otherwise but that he was a 
knight, sitting there according to the custom of the country, 
with a red cap upon his head, clad in his small-clothes and 
doublet, his sword at his side, the pommel of it grasped by his 
right, the hilt with his left hand. He soon began and inquired 
from what country we were ? But answered himself, saying : 
* You are Swiss. From what part of Switzerland are you?' 
We replied : « From St. Gallen.' He rejoined : ' If you, then, as I 
have understood, intend to proceed to Wittenberg, you w#! 
meet good fellow-countrymen, namely Jerome Schurf and his 
brother Dr. Augustine.' Said we : ' We bear letters to them.' 
Whereupon we in return inquired : f Could not your honour 
inform us, whether Martin Luther is at Wittenberg, at present, 
or in what place he probably resides V He answered : * I have 
certain information that Luther is not at Wittenberg, at present. 



242 



•THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



But it is said that he will soon be there. Philip Melanchthon, 
however, is there, he teaches the Greek language, and there 
are others who " teach .the Hebrew, both of which, I would 
earnestly recommend you to study. For to understand the 
Holy Scriptures, a knowledge of these must first be acquired/ 
Said we: 'God be praised ! For (if God spare our lives) we 
shall not rest contented till we have seen and heard the man ; 
for on his account we have undertaken this journey, having 
learned, that he attempts to overthrow the priesthood, and the 
mass as an unauthorized worship. But we having from our 
youth up been trained and designed by our parents for the 
priesthood, we would like to hear what instruction he can give 
us, and with what justice he can engage in such attempts/ 
Upon this he inquired : 4 Where did you formerly study ? ' An- 
swer : 4 At Basle.' Said he : 4 How do matters stand at Basle ? 
Is Erasmus Rotrodamus there yet ? In what is he engaged ? • 
* We do not know otherwise, your honour, ' said we, 4 but that 
matters stand well. But no one knows, in what he is engaged ; 
for he keeps himself very quiet and secluded.' During this 
conversation we were greatly surprised at the knight, that he 
so familiarly spoke of the Schurfs, of Philip and Erasmus, as 
likewise of the necessity of the Greek and Hebrew languages. 
Besides this, he occasionally employed several Latin words, so 
that we began to consider him a different person from a com- 
mon knight. 4 My friends,' said he, 4 what do they think of Luther 
in Switzerland V 4 There are, as everywhere,' replied 1, 4 various 
opinions, your honour. Some scarcely know how to exalt him 
sufficiently, and they praise God, that, through him, he has re- 
vealed the truth and exposed error ; some, however, condemn 
him, as an intolerable heretic, most of all the clergy.' Said 
he ; 4 1 guarantee, it is the priests.' Amidst such conversation 
we began to feel quite at our ease, so that my companion took 
up the book that lay before him, and opened it. It was the 
book of psalms in Hebrew. He then quickly replaced it and 
the knight retained it. This circumstance caused us to be still 
more at a loss, as to who he could possibly be ; and my com- 
panion said : *I would lose a finger from my hand to understand 
this language.' He replied: 'You certainly can acquire it if 
you only make the necessary exertion; I also am anxious to ob- 
tain a more accurate knowledge of it, and exercise myself 
daily in it.' The day being now quite spent, and it being very 
dark, the host stepped up to the table ; and having learned our 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



243 



anxious wish to see Martin Luther, he said : * My friends, you 
might have had your wish, if you had been here two days ago ; 
for here he sat at this table;' pointing to the place with his 
finger. That vexed us greatly, and we were dissatisfied with 
ourselves because of our delay, and vented our displeasure 
upon tke bad roads, which had hindered our progress ; but said, 
' We are nevertheless glad to be in the house, at the table at 
which he sat.' At this the host, laughing, left the room. Fol- 
lowing him, I was affrighted, and bethought myself of what im- 
propriety I might have been guilty, or of what I was unjustly 
suspected. Then the host said to me : * Since I perceive your 
earnest desire to see and to hear Luther : that is he, sitting there 
with you.' These words I took to be spoken in jest, and said : 
* Yes, landlord, you mean to impose upon me, and to gratify my 
desire with a fancied Luther.' He replied . 4 It assuredly is he ; 
yet do not act as if you recognised him.' I yielded to the land- 
lord, but could not believe him, and returned to the room, seated 
myself at the table, and felt anxious likewise to inform my 
companion of what the host had revealed to me. With this 
view I turned myself towards the door and towards him, and 
secretly whispered to him : ' The host informed me, that this is 
Luther.' He, like myself, hesitated to believe it, and said : ' Per- 
haps he said it was Hutten, and you did not understand him 
rightly.' And as the knightly habit reminded me more of Hut- " 
ten than of Luther as a monk, I suffered myself to be persuaded 
that the host had said : * It is Hutten,' for the beginning of the 
two names sounds nearly alike. What I said, therefore, was 
spoken as if I had been conversing with Ulric von Hutten. 

" Meanwhile there arrived two merchants, who also desired 
lodging for the night ; and having freed themselves of all en- 
cumbrances, one of them placed beside him a small unbound 
book. Upon this Martin asked what kind of a book that was ? 
Said he : * It is Doctor Luther's explanation of several Gospels 
and Epistles, but lately printed and published; have you never 
seen it? ' Martin answered: 'I shall likewise obtain it soon.' 
Then the landlord remarked, that he would entertain us, and 
give us something extra, saying: 'My good friends, now seat 
yourselves near that gentleman, at the table ; I will entertain 
you well.' Martin hearing it, said : 1 Only sit up ; I will pay 
the reckoning.' Whilst we were thus sitting at table, Martin 
uttered many godly and friendly discourses, so that the mer- 
chants and we were filled with astonishment because of him. 



244 



THE STRUGGLES Ox THE REFORMATION. 



being more attentive to his words than to all the food : he, 
among other things, observing with grief : How the princes 
and lords were at present assembled at the diet at Nuremburg 
on account of God's Word and the existing affairs and griev- 
ances of the German nation. Further he said : That he enter- 
tained the hope that the truth of the Gospel would produce 
more fruit among our children and posterity, (as not being 
poisoned with papal error, but being planted upon the pure 
truth and God's Word,) than with the parents, in whom error, 
having struck deep root, could not so easily be eradicated, 
Upon this the merchants likewise spoke their minds, and the 
older of them said: 4 1 am a simple, plain layman, and have no 
particular acquaintance with these affairs, but this I say: As I 
view the matter, Luther must either be an angel from heaven 
or a devil from hell. I have with me only ten florins, which I 
mean to expend for the purpose of having an opportunity to 
confess to him. For I believe that he might and could perhaps 
instruct my conscience.' As this was passing, the host stepped 
up and secretly said to us : 6 Be not concerned about the reck- 
oning, Martin has defrayed the expenses of the supper for you/ 
At this we were greatly rejoiced, not because of the money or 
of the food, but because this man had shown us hospitality. 
After the supper, the merchants arose and went to the stable to 
attend to their horses. During this time, Martin remained 
alone with us in the room. We embraced the opportunity to 
return our thanks to him for his hospitality and present, and 
gave him to understand, that we took him for Ulric von Hutten, 
But he said : * I am not he.' The host coming in, Martin said: 
J I have this night been made^a nobleman; for these Swiss take 
me for Ulric von Hutten/ The host said : * You are not he, 
but Martin Luther.' Upon this he laughed, jesting and saying : 
( They take me for Hutten, you for Luther :' and having spo- 
ken this, he took a high beer-glass, and, according to the custom 
of the country, said : i Swiss, take a friendly drink yet before 
we separate.' And as I was about to take the glass, he ex- 
changed it, and instead of it offered me a tumbler full of mild 
wine, saying : ' Beer is an unusual article with you ; drink 
the wine.' With this he arose, cast his knightly cloak over his 
shoulder, and, bidding us good night, offered us his hand and 
said : f When you arrive at Wittenberg, greet Dr. Jerome Schurf 
from me.' To which we replied : * We shall gladly and wil- 
lingly do so ; only how shall we name you, that he may know 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION; 



245 



the salutation to be from you ? 5 Said he : 4 Tell him only : He 
that is to come, greets you; and he will immediately under- 
stand you.' Thus he retired from us to his rest. After this 
the merchants returned to the room, and calling upon the host 
to set another drink upon the table for them, they conversed 
much about the stranger who had sat with them, wondering 
who he could be. But the host intimated that he took him for 
Luther, and the merchants soon suffered themselves to be per- 
suaded ; were sorry and grieved that they had spoken so im- 
properly concerning him, and said, that they would in the 
morning arise so much the more early, and beg him not to be 
angry at them and not to be offended, as they had not recog- 
nised his person ; this they did, and in the morning found him 
in the stable. But Martin answered : * You did right in saying, 
at supper, that you would expend 10 florins in favour of Luther 
and confess to him : if now you confess to him, you will un- 
doubtedly perceive, whether I am Martin Luther ;' and without 
making himself further known, he soon afterwards mounted 
his horse and rode towards Wittenberg. On the same day we 
set out for Wittenberg. On the Saturday afterwards (as 
Martin on the Friday previous) the day following being the 
first Sunday in Lent, we came to Dr. Jerome Schurf 's to deliver 
our letter* And being called into the room, behold there we 
found Martin, just as at Jena, and with him Philip Melanch- 
thon, Justus Jodocus Jonas, Nicholas Amsdorf, and Doctor 
Augustine Schurf, relating what had occurred at Wittenberg 
during his absence. He saluted us and smiled, and pointing 
with his finger, said : ' This is Philip Melanchthon of whom I 
spoke to you.' " 

Having arrived at Wittenberg, Luther, beginning with the 
Sunday Invocavit, and continuing to the Sunday Reminiscere, 
delivered eight sermons, by means of which he soon again re- 
stored everything to order. 

In the first sermon he said, that, as we have all, each for 
himself, to contend against the devil and death, every one must 
likewise oe well informed as to the principal points which 
concern a Christian, and prepare him for this serious contest. 
** That, namely, in the first place, we are all children of wrath, 
and that our works, thoughts and dispositions, are sinful, and 
avail nothing before God, so that we cannot venture to appear 
before God with them, let them have ever so good an appear- 
ance. That, in the second place, God has, wholly out of grace 



246 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



and goodness, sent to us, into the world, his only-begotten 
Son, that we should believe and confide in him, so that who- 
ever believes on him, should be free from sin, and a child of 

God." ■ " In regard to these two points," continued he, "I 

perceive no deficiency or error among you ; they have been 
preached to you in their purity. And it should grieve me ex- 
ceedingly, if it should have been done in any other than the 
right way." — " In the third place, we must have love too, 
and through love do to one another as God has done to us 
through faith, without which love, faith is nothing, as St. Paul 
says to the Corinthians : Though I speak with the tongues of 
men and of angels, &e. In this respect, my dear friends, you 
are very deficient, and I discover no love whatever in any one, 
and observe quite well, that you have been ungrateful to God, 
and that these true treasures and gifts, which God has sent 
during these few years, have been bestowed wholly in vain. 
Therefore let us be on our guard here, that Wittenberg do not 
become Capernaum. I perceive and observe that you know, 
indeed, how to speak of the doctrines which have been 
preached to you, as regards faith, for instance, and also as 
regards love ; and it is not surprising that you should be able 
to discourse much about these things. Why, it is almost pos- 
sible to teach a donkey to sing; should you not then also learn 
so much as to be able by rote to repeat the doctrines and the 
words 1 But, my dear friends, the kingdom of God docs not 
consist in the speech or in the words but in power and action. 
For God does not want hearers only and repeaters, but followers 
and doers, who keep the Word and exercise themselves in the faith 
which works by love. For faith without love is worth nothing, 
yea, it is no faith, but only a semblance of faith : just as a 
face, seen in a mirror, is not a real face, but only the sem- 
blance of a face. In the fourth place, we need patience too. 
For he that has faith, trusts in God, and practises love towards 
his neighbour, exercising himself in these things daily. He 
cannot be without persecution : for Satan does not sleep or 
rest, but abundantly vexes and annoys men. But persecution 
works patience ; and if I am not persecuted and annoyed, I 
have little knowledge of patience. Yet does patience work 
hope, and this then submissively yields, and raising itself up 
to God, does not make ashamed. And thus does faith, through 
the multitude of trials and persecutions, increase more and 
more, and daily become stronger. Such a heart, in which 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 247 

faith thus increases, and which is blessed with such virtues, 
cannot rest or refrain itself, but must, in return, overflow in 
doing good to its neighbour, as it has received and experienced 
at the hand of God. Now here, my dear friends, we must not 
do everything which we have a right to do, but we must also 
yield up our right, and have respect to what is useful and 
advantageous to our brethren, as St. Paul did. who thus writes 
to the Corinthians : All things are lawful for me; but all things 
are not expedient. And afterwards, in the ninth chapter, he 
says : For though I be free from all men, yet have I made my- 
self servant unto all, that I might gain the more, &c. In these 
words of Paul, it is prescribed to us how we, who have re- 
ceived faith from God, are to demean ourselves towards others, 
namely, to adapt ourselves to the weakness of our neighbour; 
for we are not all equally strong in the faith. Yea, one who 
is strong in the faith to-day, may be weak in it to-morrow ; 
and he again who is weak to-day, may be strong to-morrow. 
Therefore we are to look not only at ourselves and our own 
faith or ability, but also at our neighbour, that we adapt our- 
selves to him, and do not offend him by our freedom." Fur- 
ther, he said, that " we ought not to forget how God, for a long 
time, patiently bore with our weakness in our unbelief, and 
that we ought to deal with our weak brethren in the same 
way, till they too become strong, and should not, therefore, 
fiercely assail them, but be gentle and friendly towards them, 
instructing and teaching them in all humility, and not think 
of entering heaven alone, but endeavour also to take our weak 
brethren with us. That he saw that they had greatly erred 
in this respect, and in part had grossly offended. That if he 
had been present, he would not have proceeded as far as they 
had done. That the cause was indeed a good one in itself, 
but the haste had been too precipitate. That there were 
brethren and sisters on the other side, too, who had yet to be 
won over. That faith indeed must be firm ; but that love 
must yield and adapt itself to our neighbour. That those, ac- 
cordingly, had all erred, who had aided in the abolition of the 
mass and consented to it ; not as though this had been evil, 
but it had been done with a sinful disposition, without any 
order, to the offence of others. That they had not consulted 
the authorities in reference to the matter, and had not pre- 
viously inquired of him concerning it. That they indeed pos- 
sessed a superior knowledge of the Scriptures, but had not the 



248 THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 

spirit ; else they would not have made that a matter of neces- 
sity which is left free." f Therefore," said he in conclusion, 

"I declare to you and warn you, faithfully, if we do not ear- 
nestly pray God, and do what is right in this matter, I very 
much apprehend, that all the distress which has, through us, 
begun to come upon the papists, will overtake us. On this 
account, I could no longer remain absent, but felt constrained 
to come and declare this to you." 

In the second sermon he again draws attention to the dis- 
tinction between those things which are necessary and those 
which are left optional, and says, that in those things also, 
which must exist, love nevertheless acts so as not to use com- 
pulsion or to proceed with too much severity. That he agreed 
with them, that the private masses ought to be abolished. That 
no one, however, ought to be dragged away from them by 
main force, but that it should be left to God ; and His Word 
alone should be permitted to exert its influence, without our 
additions or works. Since, as we cannot pour faith into the 
heart of any one, no one ought to be driven to it by main 
force. That if the abuse of the masses were violently abol- 
ished, many of those who would have to submit to such 
abolition, would not know what to think of it, whether it was 
right or wrong, and thus they would be perplexed and dis- 
tressed in their consciences. That the hearts of men must first 
be secured, and that this is done by teaching God's Word, 
proclaiming the Gospel, and pointing out to them their errors. 
That where this is done, the Word would fall into the heart 
of one to-day, of another to-morrow, and that God thus with his 
Word accomplished more than all the world with all its power. 
That they would not succeed by means of storming and vio- 
lent measures ; and if they intended to continue in employing 
these, he would not stand by them. That love requires us to 
sympathize with the weak, till they, too, increase and become 
strong in the faith. That the apostles had done so ; that he 
intended likewise to do so. He points them to his own ex- 
ample : " I opposed the pope, indulgences, and the whole mul- 
titude of the papists; but not with force, not maliciously, not 
violently : God's Word alone have I employed, preaching it 
and making it known with the pen, having no recourse what- 
ever to any other means. Whilst I was sleepii g, whilst I was 
drinking Wittenberg beer with my Philip and Amsdorf, or was 
enjoying myself, this same Word has accomplished so much. 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 249 

that the papacy has become so weak and faint, as "no prince 
or emperor has ever been able to render it. I did not do it ; 
the Word alone, preached and published by me, has accom- 
plished all this. If I, too, had resorted to force and violence, it 
- would no doubt have proved the occasion of filling Germany 
with bloodshed. But what would it have availed ? It would 
have been a piece of folly, bringing destruction upon body and 
soul." 

In the third sermon, he speaks of those things which are un* 
necessary, it being left optional with us to observe them or not, 
no one having a right to prohibit them, and says, we ought to 
adopt this course : " If you can observe such things without a 
violation of conscience, then without hesitation observe them; 
but if you cannot, then omit them, lest you should fall into 
greater perplexity. Here we dare not give a general com- 
mand, but every one must be left at liberty to receive or to 
reject. But to this point you must attend, that you be tho- 
roughly prepared to stand before God and the world, when you 
are assailed on account of these things, especially in the hour 
of death, before Satan. Then it will not suffice to say : Such 
and such a man did so ; my neighbour eats meat on Friday, 
on that account I likewise ate it ; everybody does so now, 
therefore I do so too ; I have followed the multitude ; and 
other such quibbling and insufficient reasons ; nor will it be 
of any avail, or stand the test, to say : Such and such a minis- 
ter has preached thus ; and Satan will not pay the least at- 
tention to it. Yea, if you are not more certain and better 
armed than with such weak weapons, you are already undone. 
Here every one must engage in the contest for himself, and be 
most strongly armed to war against Satan." 

Concerning images, he says, that it is an optional matter to 
have them or not to have, though it would be better to have 
no images at all, because of the pernicious and accursed abuse 
and unbelief occasioned by them. That the emperor and pope 
both had erred in their dispute concerning images, in that they 
had given a command or prohibition in reference to that 
which God had left optional. That the iconoclasts did, indeed, 
appeal to Exod. xx. : " Thou shalt not make unto thee any 
image or any likeness" &c, as to clear and evident words, but 
that they forgot what follows: " thou shalt not bow down to them 
or serve them." The bowing down was forbidden here, not the 
making ; images we might have or make, without doing 



250 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



wrong ; but we were not to bow down to them. For the 
patriarchs certainly built altars to the Lord, and Moses himself 
erected the brazen serpent, so also there were two cherubims 
over the mercy-seat. " Therefore we must acknowledge and 
conclude, that we may make and have images, but dare not - 
worship them. But if there were any images which we in- 
tended to worship, such images should be broken to pieces 
and removed ; yet we are not to resort to violent or nefarious 
means, but are to leave the matter to be executed by the au- 
thorities. In this way King Hezekiah proceeded, when he 

broke to pieces the brazen serpent erected by Moses." 

" There is need of a different mode of procedure, in tearing 
down images. It ought to have been made known that images 
are nothing, and that God is not served by the erection of 
images. It this course had been pursued, the images would 
of themselves have passed away and perished. In this way 
Paul proceeded at Athens, as you have already heard. He 
went into the temples and beheld all their idols and images, 
but he did not rashly fall to work and break them in pieces, 
or abuse them, but, standing forth in the public square, he 
rebuked the Athenians on account of their superstition, and 
their idolatrous worship. He thus preached against idolatry, 
but did not resort to violence and tear down the images. But 
you wish to fall to work, and, without any preaching, demolish 
the altars, cast down the images, and cause great excitement. 
But do not deceive yourselves; for in this way you will not 
remove the images ; yea, you will place them only upon a 
firmer basis." 

In the fourth sermon he, after making some additional re- 
marks concerning images, says, in reference to the eating of 
meat, that we are free, and are lords over all food, but that we 
must make a proper use of this freedom. That, in the first 
place, if we could not, without injury, dispense with it, or if 
we were in ill health, we might eat what we saw proper, take 
offence who chose. That, in the second place, if any one 
should attempt to compel to abstain from, as the pope had 
attempted in his foolish and mad statutes, then we should, in 
no way, surfer ourselves to be driven from the freedom which 
God has given, but in defiance of men, do directly the opposite. 
That nevertheless, in the third place, towards such as are weak 
in the faith, and suffer themselves to be instructed, but are 
perplexed in consequence of their ignorance, we must act 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



251 



differently, have patience with them, and refrain from exercis- 
ing our freedom, since it occasions us no injury or danger but 
is much rather advantageous, and promotive of the good of our 
neighbour. 

In the fifth sermon he speaks of the highly revered sacrament, 
and says that he had often preached against the foolish statutes 
of the pope in reference to this sacramant, and had shown that 
a layman does not commit sin, even if he does touch the body 
of Christ and the cup with uncovered hands. That they ought 
to have felt grateful to God for such knowledge ; but that now 
they acted as foolishly as the pope, inasmuch as they had de- 
clared it necessary to receive the sacrament with the hands, 
and yet wished to be good Christians. That they had grossly 
offended in this respect, and had dealt far too presumptuously 
wilh this precious treasure, so that it would not be surprising 
if God had instantly visited his punishment upon them. That 
if they would not yield in this matter it would not require any 
emperor or king to chase him away ; he would soon depart 
of himself. That none of his enemies, though they had greatly 
maligned him, had done him so much injury as they them- 
selves, his friends, had done him, by this single movement. If 
by this you wish to show yourselves good Christians, and boast 
of it that you receive the sacrament, the body of Christ, with 
your hands, then the Jews, Herod and Pilate would have been 
the best Christians ; for truly, I conceive, they did lay their 
hands on the body of Christ. No, my dear friends, this is not 
the way to proceed. The kingdom of God does not consist in 
outward things, which can be touched and felt, but in faith and 
power. That though they had not committed sin in this, they 
had not done a good work by it, as the whole world took 
offence at this matter. That we ought to be very careful and 
not introduce any innovations in opposition to established, 
praiseworthy customs, unless the Gospel had, previously, been 
thoroughly taught and explained, as also understood and 
believed. 

Concerning both hinds of the highly revered sacrament he snys, 
that it was indeed necessary to receive this sacrament under 
both kinds, according to the institution of Christ, but that we 
should not so hastily proceed to compulsion and make it a 
general rule, till every one had first been well instructed, 
since, if this were not done, it would become an outward, 
hypocritical work, which was the very thing Satan desired. 



252 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION, 



In the sixth sermon Luther shows who are prepared for the 
reception of the sacrament, and here distinguishes between the 
outward reception, which is accomplished with the mouth, 
and does not tend to make a man a Christian, and the inward 
reception by means of faith. But that, as all men have not 
faith, no general rule should be established, as had been done 
by the pope, in that he had made it obligatory upon all Chris- 
tians once a year, at the time of Easter, to commune. "For 
such unspeakably rich treasures with which God has blessed 
us cannot be common to every one, but only to those who meet 
with trials, persecutions and adversities, whether bodily or 
spiritual, outward or inward, whether proceeding from men or 
from Satan. Thus, for instance, when Satan causes thy heart 
to become weak, timid and dispirited, so that thou art in doubt 
as to how thou standest with God, Satan holding up to thee 
thy sins and causing thee to tremble and to despair ; then look 
to it, that thou become a participant in this precious and noble 
treasure, or rather be certain that thou already possessest it. 
For it is in such a terrified, trembling heart, that God desires 
to dwell and to abide, as Isaiah says, and also David in the 
Psalms. For who desires protection, defence, and support, but 
he who is afflicted and meets with opposition ? He, accord- 
ingly, who does not find his sins harassing him and Satan as- 
sailing him, is not yet prepared for this food, for this food 
demands a hungering, longing soul, and delights in being com- 
municated to such hungering soul, which daily contends 
against sin, desiring to be delivered from it. But let him who 
does not yet feel himself in this condition, for a time refrain 
from this sacrament. For this food does not wish a satisfied, 
full heart, and if it enters it, it proves an injury to it. If we, 
accordingly, experienced such urging of conscience and such 
timidity, we surely would approach in all humility and rever- 
ence, and not be so imprudent as to rush up like swine." 

In the seventh sermon he speaks of the fruit of the sacra- 
ment, which is love, namely, that we act towards our neigh- 
bour as God has acted towards us, this being the characteristic 
by which Christians are known, and he censures those at 
Wittenberg for their deficiency in this respect. 

In the eighth sermon, finally, he treats of confession, and here 
distinguishes, "firstly, a confession founded on scriptural 
authority. Thus when any one had fallen into open sin, so 
that men knew of it, he was also publicly accused before the 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION* 



253 



congregation. If he desisted from his sin, they prayed for him 
before God and assisted in reconciling him. But if he would 
not desist and refused to hear the congregation, he was excom- 
municated, being excluded and separated from the assembly, 
and no one was permitted to have any dealings whatever with 
him. Of this confession we have not the shadow remaining in 
the Church. If any one could again restore this confession, he 
would perform a precious and good work." . . . "Secondly, 
there is a confession in which we lament our sins before God 
alone, and confess to God himself, acknowledging unto Him all 
our faults. And the observance of this confession is highly 
necessary for us, so much so that we are to practise it every 
hour and every moment, it being, moreover, also enjoined upon 
as." ..." Thirdly, there is a confession in which one man con- 
fesses to another man, taking him apart by himself, and relating 
to him his trials and difficulties, in order to hear from him 
some word of consolation with which to quiet his conscience." 
That the pope had enjoined this confession and made of it a 
matter of necessity, this he, Luther, had rejected ; but yet he 
would not suffer any one to take from him private confession, 
and would not exchange it for all the treasures of the world, 
knowing what strength and comfort it had afforded him. "I 
know Satan well," says he in conclusion, "if you also had 
known him as well as I do, you would not have made so light 
of private confession. Let this suffice now, and let us pray 
God for his grace that we may pursue the right course and not 
be seduced from it." 

Both the learned and the unlearned at Wittenberg — as Dr. 
Jerome Schurf informed the elector — were full of joy and re- 
joicing at Dr. Martin's arrival and sermons, "for through 
them," so he wrote, "he again, daily, by the help of God, is 
leading us poor seduced and perplexed people back to the way 
of truth, by incontrovertibly setting forth the error into which 
we have so sadly been led by intruding preachers, so that it is 
manifest and plain, that the Spirit of God is in him, and works 
through him. And I doubt not at all, but that he has come to 
Wittenberg at this time through the special providence of God. 
Gabriel has acknowledged, too, that he has erred and proceed- 
ed too far in these things. Karlstadt is not well satisfied; but 
I trust to God, that he will not be able to accomplish or to do 
anything." 

Even one of the adherents of Marcus Stiibner, being ques- 



254 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



tioned whether he did not consider Luther an able teacherj 
replied : " Yea, more, it seems to me as if I had heard the 
voice, not of a man, but of an angel." Marcus himself was 
not present at that time, but he soon returned to Wittenberg 
to his adherents, and these again clung around him, confirming 
one another in their preconceived opinions, and by their per- 
suasions encouraging Marcus to maintain and to defend them. 
This was done most of all and most vehemently by Cellarius. 
It was accordingly deemed expedient that they should meet 
Luther and state to him the substance of their doctrines. The 
latter consented to this only with reluctance ; finally, however, 
he fixed a day and an hour for Marcus to come and meet him. 
He had no one to be present at the interview but Philip Me- 
lanchthon, and Marcus brought with him Cellarius and one 
more of his adherents. Luther quietly listened to Marcus 
giving a statement of his doctrines, and when the latter had 
concluded, he simply, because he did not deem it proper to dis- 
pute against things so absurd and wretched, remarked: "That 
they should look well to what they were undertaking. That 
nothing of all they had advanced was based upon the Holy 
Scriptures ; that it was nothing but the conceit of impertinent 
minds, or perhaps even the mad and pernicious inspirations of 
a false spirit." Cellarius on hearing this stamped upon the 
floor with his feet, struck his hands upon the table, and raving 
in voice and gesture, exclaimed with indignation, how Luther 
could venture to suspect a man of God of such things. But 
Marcus, with somewhat more moderation, said : " Now, Lu- 
ther, in order that thou mayest know that I have the Spirit of 
God, I will inform thee as to what, at this moment, is passing 
in thy heart, and that is, that thou art beginning to consider 
this my doctrine to be true." Luther having, as he himself 
afterwards stated, upon close reflection, fully comprehended 
this declaration, replied: "The Lord rebuke thee, Satan!" 
and thought that he ought not to discourse much more with 
them, but on their departing amidst boasts and threats, and 
promising all manner of marvellous things with which they 
meant to sustain their cause, he dismissed them with the 
words: "That God whom 'I worship and serve, will well know 
how to restrain your gods, that nothing of all that will hap- 
pen." That same day they left town, and from Kemberg sent 
to Luther a letter full of reproaches and imprecations. 

The elector, who was apprehensive that the presence of 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



255 



Luther at Wittenberg might prove greatly prejudicial both to 
Luther himself and to others, caused Dr. Schurf to arrange it 
wilh him, that he would direct a letter to him, the elector, and 
in it state from what cause and consideration he had again 
betaken himself to Wittenberg, and that this had been done 
without his permission, that he should, moreover, indicate his 
willingness to abide by the decisions of justice, and declare 
his intention of not proving prejudicial to the interests of any 
one. This letter was to be drawn up in such a way as to per- 
mit the elector to put it into the hands of some of his lords and 
friends in order to maintain a good understanding. 

Upon this, Luther, under date of the 7th March, wrote to 
the elector: That he had not been influenced by any con- 
tempt for the authority of his imperial majesty, or of the 
elector, or of any other superior, for that, although human 
governments were not always to be obeyed, especially not if 
they required anything in opposition to the commandments of 
God, they were yet never to be despised. But that the Church 
at Wittenberg had, in the first place, unanimously, and with 
great and earnest entreaty, given him a written call, and since 
the business had been begun by him and he was constrained 
to acknowledge himself the submissive servant of that Church, 
he had not at all been at liberty to refuse. That Satan had, 
in the second place, during his absence, entered his fold at 
Wittenberg and occasioned a number of disturbances, which 
he had not been able to counteract by means of any writing, 
they demanding his personal presence, living mouth and ears. 
That he had therefore been constrained to disregard the favour 
and displeasure, not only of the elector, but likewise the wrath 
and pleasure of the whole world. That they were his fold, 
committed to his care by God, his children in Christ. That 
here there had been no room for disputation as to whether he 
was to come or not. That it was his duty even to suffer death 
for them. That he, in the third place, was very apprehensive 
of a great insurrection in Germany, with which God would 
punish the German nation. That the common people received 
the Gospel carnally, saw that it was true, and yet would not 
make the right use of it ; and that those who ought to suppress 
such insurrection, were beginning, by main force, to extinguish 
the light, and did not see that in this way they were only ex- 
asperating men and compelling them to rebel. Therefore the 
elector was requested, graciously to excuse his returning to 



256 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



Wittenberg without his knowledge and consent : that the 
elector was lord only over property and body, but Christ was 
Lord likewise of the soul, and that he durst not forsake those 
to whom He had sent him. That he trusted his Lord Christ 
had power over his enemies, and would be able, without fail, 
to protect him against them if He saw proper ; but if He did 
not see proper, then might His good will be done. 

The elector was satisfied with the general tenor of this letter, 
only causing the words : fl It is far otherwise determined in 
heaven than at Nuremberg (by the diet)," and several other 
expressions which seemed too harsh to him, to be moderated 
and changed by Spalatin, and Luther now wrote according to 
the copy set him, although he discovered in it many traces of 
the unbelieving fear of the elector. 

Authorities. — Melanchth. Epp. in the Corpus Reform., vol. 1, No. 
112, 115, 133. Let. No. 326, 321, 337, 342. The thirty-sixth Psalm 
of David, for the instruction and comfort of Christians against the 
ravings of wicked and malicious hypocrites. Martin Luther, 1521, 
Works, vol. 6, p. 94. Math. 4 Pred. comp., the document in StrobePs 
Miscellan., 5 Sammlung, p. 124. Let. No. 360, 351, 355. Works, 
vol. 18, p. 239. Seckend., p. 215 sqq. Works, vol, 18, p. 249. Mel. 
Epp. in the Corp. Ref., vol. 1, No. 170, 171, 182. Spalalin in the 
Historia Frid. Elect., in Seckend., p. 193. Corp. Ref., vol. 1, p. 535 
sqq. Let. No. 358, 360, 356. Joachim Camerarii Narrat. de Phil. 
Melanchthon's Ortu, &c. p. 50, cf. Mel. Epp., No. 192. Let. 361. Corpus 
Ref., vol. 1, p. 559 sqq. Let. No. 362. Andreas Poppii Historia der 
Stadt Eisenach, p. 165, according to a MS. The narration of Kessler 
first in the Helvet. Almanach of 1808, p. 119. The eight sermons, 
Works, vol. 18, p. 250 sq. The correspondence between the elector, 
Schurf and Luther, Works, vol. 18, p. 274 sq., comp. Let., No. 
363-66. 

Notes. — 1.) Most probably the writing: "A faithful warning to all 
Christians to beware of insurrection and rebellion," of Jan. 19th, 1522, 
Works, vol. 18, p. 288. Previously already he had disapproved of a 
tumult which had arisen among the students at Erfurt. Let. No. 
319 and 320. 

2.) The author has substituted this general statement of the disturb- 
ances as found in the Works, for a detailed delineation previously drawn 
up by himself, because he felt assured that ihe general outlines here 
given suffice for the present purpose, and because, moreover, it is almost 
impossible without artificial combinations and additions, to produce a 
connected and distinct picture from the separate documents and in their 
own words. The friends of special history we direct it particular to the 
Corpus Reformatorum, vol. 1, in which from pages 459-563, there are 
found, besides those already known, many documents, which have thus 
far never been printed. See likewise the fragment, " News from Wit- 
tenberg," &c, in Strobel's Miscellaneen, 5 Sammlung, p. 119 sq. 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



257 



3. ) It is not certain whether, and when this letter, which is extant 
only as fragment, (Let. No. 356, Works, vol. 18,) was despatched ; but 
be this as it may, its date falls either in January or February of the 
year 1522. 

4. ) The elector had, with just as much expense as trouble, caused to 
be collected for the cathedral or church of All Saints, founded by him, 
so large a number of relics from all parts of Europe, that it is said, there 
was to be found no saint in all the calendars concerning whom some 
memento had not been secured. See the description of this Church, for 
instance, by Matth. Faber, 1730, p. 282, sqq. 

5. ) Duke George despatched many letters to the elector concerning 
the innovations at Wittenberg, and called upon him to employ active 
measures against them. 



CHAPTER III. 

LABOURS AND CONTESTS^ IN THE YEAR 1 522. 

"Necessity has compelled me," Luther wrote, after his return 
from the Wartburg, under date of the 18th March, to Nich. 
Jerbelius, "to expose myself to the full rage of the emperor 
and of the pope, in order, if possible, to expel the wolf from my 
fold. And thus I am without any protection but that of Hea- 
ven, being surrounded by foes who are authorized by men to 
put me to death at any moment. But I comfort, myself with 
the thought that Christ is Lord over all, and that the Father 
has put all things under his feet, doubtless also the wrath of 
the emperor and all spirits not belonging to the sheep, which 
the Father has subjected to the Son. If He now wishes to 
have me put to death, be it so in His name ; but if He does 
not wish it, who will put me to death ? Do thou and those 
with thee only have care, that you may help the Gospel with 
your prayers ; for I perceive that Satan is endeavouring, not 
only to extinguish the light of the Gospel, but also to occasion 
great bloodshed in Germany." Luther feared this, because 
there were wanting those who were willing to oppose them- 
selves as a, wall for the house of Israel against the Lord, and 
because of the ingratitude for the Gospel, it being possessed 
more in word than in power. He complained that many 
monks were leaving the cloisters for no other reason than that 
which had caused them to enter them, namely, for the sake of 
good living and carnal freedom, and he feared that such men 
would bring great reproach upon God's Word. Finally, he 

17 



258 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



was apprehensive, too, for the life of the elector, observing : 44 If 
we do not, by means of our prayers, keep him back, I fear he 
will not be with us much longer." 

As to Karlstadt and Gabriel Didymus, who had occasioned 
the Wittenberg disturbances, it must be remarked that the 
latter had retraced his steps and become a different man, con- 
cerning Karlstadt, however, it was not known what he would 
do. He felt himself aggrieved that Luther had set aside his 
regulations, though the latter had not rejected his doctrines, 
having only declared his dissatisfaction that Karlstadt had 
busied himself wholly with ceremonies and outward things, 
and on account of these had neglected the true Christian doc- 
trine concerning faith and love. Luther was now only con- 
cerned that they might imitate the Wittenberg tumult at 
Erfurt, in the removal of the images, the abolition of the mass, 
of one kind in the sacrament, and all the other matters. He 
accordingly repeatedly wrote to John Lange, and it being 
especially the invocation of the saints about which they were 
at variance at Erfurt, he drew up the writing : " Concerning 
the Saints. An epistle or instruction to the Church at Erfurt, 
assembled in God." In it he exhorts the ministers to avoid the 
questions concerning the saints in heaven and concerning the 
dead, and to draw the people off from them, because there 
would be no end to questions here. That it was the object of 
Satan to detain them with that which is unnecessary, in order 
thus to hinder that which is necessary. That he did no sin 
who did not invoke the saints, but relied firmly upon the only 
Mediator, Jesus Christ, yea, that such a one was perfectly right 
and secure. That the others, however, should not be despised 
in their weakness. " Let them call upon the name of the 
saints if they will do so, only let them know and be on their 
guard that they do not put their confidence and trust in any 
saint but alone in Christ. For confidence is the highest honour 
which is due to God alone, who is the truth himself." He in 
particular warns them against insurrection, saying: 44 There 
are many inconsiderate men who imagine themselves able to 
help the cause of the Gospel by means of the sword and the 
arm of flesh, thinking to have attained their object if they 
weaken or injure priests and monks. But they do not know 
that our warfare is not against flesh and blood, but against the 
wicked spirits of the air. (2 Cor. x. 3, 4.) Satan is a spirit, 
having neither flesh nor bone, wherefore iron and an arm of 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



259 



flesh will accomplish nothing. The hearts of men must first 
be torn from his grasp by means of the Word of truth ; that is 
our sword and might which no one can resist : with it the 
friends of Christ divide Behemoth and cut him asunder. Be- 
hold wherewith I defeated the papacy and the spiritual power, 
which before was a terror to all the world, when all men ac- 
knowledged : Who can prevail against the beast ? For it had 
power to make war even upon the saints, and to overcome 
them. (Rev. xiii. 4, 7.) Yet I never raised a finger against it, 
and Christ has destroyed it with the sword of -his mouth." 
(2 Thess. ii. 8.) Finally, he adds : " I fear, too, that much of 
all the evil is owing to ourselves, because we preach a great 
deal of our inability to do anything without the grace of God, 
and yet attempt to begin and to accomplish all manner of 
things of ourselves, without first, in humble prayer, beseeching 
God that he would begin and accomplish them through His 
Spirit. Thus it happens then, that we journey to Egypt, and 
begin the work in obedience to our own spirit, never first ask- 
ing at His mouth concerning it. Therefore, my dear friends, 
let us act as we teach, committing all things to God, and with- 
out ceasing praying Him to direct us, to counsel and to help 
us, both in great and small matters, and not to permit us to 
follow our own opinion and reason in beginning anything." 

After Easter, Luther undertook a journey to Zwickau, for the 
purpose of finally calming the tumults occasioned by Thomas 
Miinzer and his adherents. Having, on his way, preached at 
Borna and Altenburg, he arrived at his destination on the 28th 
April, taking up his abode with the Mayor, Hermann Muhl- 
pfort. He preached four times during his stay, at St. Mary's 
Church, at the castle and from the town-hall. It is said that 
twenty-five thousand men had collected from Schneeberg, 
Annaberg, and the neighbouring places, 1 for the purpose of 
seeing and hearing him. Being clad in secular garments and 
escorted by the town-judge of Zwickau, he returned to Borna 
on the 3d May, and having preached there twice more, con- 
tinued his journey to Eilenburg. . 

For the same purpose, Luther, in October of this year, un- 
dertook a journey to Erfurt, being accompanied by Melaneh- 
thon, Jacob Propst, formerly prior at Antwerp, Magisfer John 
Agricola, (commonly called Magister Eisleben,) and Magister 
Wolfgang Stein, court-preacher to Duke John of Saxony, who 
had just then, however, received a call to St, Michael's Church, 



260 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



at Erfurt, At Weimar, Luther delivered a sermon concerning 
faith and good works, and the day after they proceeded to Er- 
furt. A short distance from the city Luiher alighted from his 
carriage, in order to avoid the throng of those who wished to 
see and welcome him. They took up their abode at the par- 
sonage of St. Michael's, where, in the evening, a great number 
of people pressed in to greet them. The next morning, Luther, 
in order to cause the less excitement, preached in the small 
Church of St. Michael's, explaining the Gospel concerning the 
wise and foolish virgins. On the following day he preached 
twice more, and the afternoon sermon being concluded they 
returned to Weimar, where there was less bustle and where 
they felt more at home. During their stay there Luther 
preached daily ; one sermon, which also was printed, being 
concerning the spiritual and temporal government. 

Among the writings which Luther wrote at this time must 
be mentioned, first of all, the epistle to the knight, Harlmuth 
von Kronberg? which was published under the title: A mis- 
sive condolatory to all those that suffer persecution on account of 
God's Word, written to his honour, Harlmuth -von Kronberg, by 
Dr. Martin Luther" Luiher had read two writings of the 
knight, one addressed to the emperor, the other to the mendi- 
cant orders, in which latter the knight exhorted them earnestly 
to consider the unspeakable grace of God, who at this time had 
made known the pure and unadulterated doctrines of the Gos- 
pel, thus pointing out the true way, the heavenly truth, and 
the transcendent, beautiful, heavenly light, and the heavenly, 
living bread, Christ Jesus. In connection with this he had 
said : " Dear brethren, the doctrines which Luther preaches are 
not his doctrines, but flow from the fountain, Christ Jesus. The 
man that follows these heavenly doctrines does not follow 
Luther, but Christ. We believe Luther no further than in so 
far as we find him sustained by the holy Gospel." . . . "There- 
fore I exhort you, out of Christian, brotherly fidelity and love, 
that you do not despise this most exalted blessing, from which 
may we also be preserved, that the same charges may not be 
preferred against you and us, which were brought against 
Capernaum and other cities to whom the exalted grace of God 
appeared, hut who wickedly abused it; that we may not be 
numbered among those unhappy men who take offence at 
Christ." 

M It was with great joy," Luther wrote, " that he had heard 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



262 



of and reau ^ writings, , ana ^ . . . , God forthe favour 
and the gut granted to him, the knight, lor in* ^. of 
Christian truth, as well as for his delight and active love 101 
the same. On this account I could not omit, in the spirit, to 
pay you a visit with this writing, and to make known to you 
my joy. For this 1 can, in all truth, say, that it does not grieve 
me so much to be condemned and persecuted by the pope and 
the whole world, as it strengthens and rejoices me to hear that 
one man receives and values the precious truth. But how 
much more does it comfort me to have experienced and daily 
to experience, that it is so cordially acknowledged and so 
freely confessed by you and others of your station, by which 
God graciously comforts me, that my faith may become the 
stronger, and I may not have all tribulation, He permitting me 
to see that His Word does not go forth in vain, as he says 
through Isaiah, lv. 11 ; again, that all the world opposes it, as 
he likewise says, Matt. xxiv. 9." That where the precious 
Word is, it naturally produces the insatiable hunger and un- 
quenchable thirst which prevent us from being satisfied, 
though many thousand men should believe in it, and cause us 
to wish that no one might be destitute of it. But that this 
thirst is quenched with gall and vinegar, as happened to Christ 
on the cross. "Behold," he continued, "such thirst for the 
salvation of your brethren you also have received now, as a 
sure sign of a truly good faith. What remains now, but that 
you must expect the gall and the vinegar, that is, calumny, re- 
proach and persecution, on account of your earnest discourse? 
It cannot be otherwise, but that where Christ is there also 
Judas must be, and Pilate, Herod, Caiaphas and Annas with 
him, as well as the cross ; or it is not the true Christ. There- 
fore, also, we are not concerned because of our tribulation, but 
because of the wretchedness of the persecutors ; inasmuch as 
we are well supplied, and are certain that they cannot do us 
any harm, but must only, the more they rave, destroy them- 
selves and promote our interests." 

Having then spoken of his enemies, especially of one of 
them, as also of the recent and severer trial of his faith, which 
Satan had occasioned him by playing his successful game at 
Wittenberg, and causing the adversaries to exult, to the re- 
proach of the Gospel, he says : " I know not but this has hap- 
pened as a punishment to several of my noblest patrons and 
myself. To* my patrons, because, though they believe that 



262 THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 

Christ has arisen, thev - T -^? iess ' with Msm*f^ search 
for Him s** x1 " garden, and He has not yet ascended up to the 
x atner for them. (John xx. 17.) But to me, because at Worms 
I, in obedience to my good friends, that I might not seem too 
obstinate, subdued my spirit, and did not more firmly and un- 
yieldingly present my confession to the tyrants." He immedi- 
ately adds, however: "But be this as it may, let it have been 
wrong or right, we will nevertheless be undaunted and undis- 
mayed ; for as we place no confidence in our good deeds, so 
we also do not despair in our sins. But we praise our God 
that our faith is above good deeds and sin. For the Father of 
mercy has granted us to believe, not in a wooden, but a living 
Christ, who is a Lord over sin and innocence, and is able to 
raise us up and to sustain us, though we should every hour fall 
into many thousand sins ; of this I have no doubt. And if 
Satan should attempt even greater and worse things, he shall 
yet not weary us till he begins such a game by which he draws 
Christ down from the right hand of God. As long as Christ 
remains seated above, we also intend to remain triumphant 
lords over sin, death, devil and everything else, and nothing 
shall prevent us. We know that He is powerful and faithful 
enough, who has raised Him from the dead (Acts v. 30, 31,) 
and placed Him at His right hand to be a lord over all things, 
without doubt, also, over sin, death, devil and hell, how much 
more then over our blustering and menacing papists. Of this 
confidence they shall not deprive us ; but as long as confidence 
remains we shall joyfully despise them, and see if they will 
take from us this Christ as easily as they imagine, and place 
another in his stead of whom the Father knows nothing. 
Therefore, I trust, that this Christ will not only again regulate 
for us this, and any other even worse affair which might arise 
after this, but will also, according to the exceeding richness of 
His wisdom and goodness, turn it to our great advantage, 
especially if you also aid with your prayer and confidence. 
Our cause has not yet sunk as low as it sunk in the times of 
Christ, when even Peter himself denied Him, all the disciples 
forsook Him, and Judas betrayed Him*'and took Him prisoner. 
And even if it does sink as low it shall yet not perish, and our 
Christ shall not see corruption. But I know and am certain, 
that this and whatever else may happen, is permitted, that 
there may be a general trial and proof, by which the strong 
may be approved, the weak strengthened, the approved 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION 260 

praised, the unbelieving revealed, and the enemy and those 
not worthy that they should see it and consider it to be God's 
Word, offended and hardened, as they have deserved." 

Further he says, that the sin committed at Worms was a sin 
of the whole German nation, because it had been committed 
by its rulers, and that this made it so great, that God's Word 
had been wholly set aside and such an offence had been oc- 
casioned, " that no one considered it to be God's Word, and 
thus all were justly blinded to blaspheme and persecute it as 
the doctrine of devils, having before, from mere wickedness, 
denied and condemned it." ..." Lord, our heavenly Father, 
permit us to fall into all sin, if we must sin ; but do Thou pre- 
serve us from being hardened, and keep us to Him and in Him, 
whom Thou hast made Lord over sin and innocence, that we 
may not deny Him or lose sight of Him ; then truly, sin, death 
and hell combined shall not harm us. Yea, what should harm 
us ? Yet are we, with our whole hearts, to praise God for still 
permitting us to see that He does not intend yet to remove His 
holy Word, He having much rather given you and others a 
humble disposition and love for it. For that is an evidence 
that they do not believe on account of men, but on account of 
the Word itself. There are many who believe on my account ; 
but those alone are the upright, who abide in it, even though 
they should hear that I myself — from which may God preserve 
me — denied and fell off. Such are not perplexed, let them 
hear as much evil and as many shocking and disgraceful 
things concerning me and our people as they may. For they 
do not believe in Luther but in Christ himself. The Word 
possesses them and they possess the Word : Luther signifies 
nothing to them, be he a knave or a saint. God can speak 
through Balaam as well as through Isaiah, through Caiaphas 
as well as through Peter, yea, even through an ass. With their 
views mine coincide. For neither do I myself know Luther, 
nor do I wish to know him ; neither do I preach anything con- 
cerning him, but concerning Christ. Let the devil come and 
take him, if he can; b^t let him leave Christ undisturbed, and 
we shall abide too. Therefore our care is to be that we be 
thankful to God, and in future act so, that our faith may con- 
sist not in words but in power. It does not suffice that we can 
speak and write well concerning it, but life and deed must 
testify for the truth, in that we show our love and benevolence 
towards friend and foe. Therefore we are to pray, in the first 



264 THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 

place, that. God would more and more strengthen us and our 
people, and daily cause his dear child Jesus to increase in our 
hearts, that we may, with all ardour and joyful Bess, praise and 
confess Him before the hardened and blind guides of this 
crooked and perverse sect of the papists ; then aid in bearing 
such guilt of the universal German nation, and pray God not 
to regard the iniquity of the wicked multitude, nor to visit 
upon the wretched souls their wickedness, and not again to 
withdraw the wholesome Word so long suppressed, nor to per- 
mit Anti-Christ again to establish himself, but. to grant us, at 
least during our times, as king Hezekiah prayed, peace and 
truth. Truly, there is need of such prayer and care. Behold," 
says he in conclusion, "how I have overflowed in words. This 
is the result of faith in Christ, which has been thus filled with 
joy on account of your faith and joyful confession. John must 
thus leap in his mother's womb when Christ comes to him, as 
you perceive he has come to me through your writing. Would 
to God, that He might also come to you through this my writ- 
ing, and cause not only your John, but also Elizabeth and ihe 
whole house to rejoice and to be full of the Spirit, remaining 
not only three months, but forever. God, the Father of all 
mercy grant this. Amen." 

In consequence of this writing Luther became involved in a 
dispute with Duke George, of Saxony, who applied the remarks 
in which Luther observed concerning his enemies : t; One, in 
particular, is that empty bubble N., which defies heaven 
with his inflated paunch, having renounced the Gospel, he 
conceives himself able also to devour Christ, as a wolf does a 
gnat, imagining that he has already snapped no inconsiderable 
notch into his left spur, raging and raving meanwhile more 
furiously than all the rest. I have, with all my heart, prayed 
for him," &c, to himself, and in a letter under date of the 28th 
December, 1522, demanded of Luther whether he had publish- 
ed the communication to Hartmuth von Kronberg, in which 
he, the Duke, was so insultingly assailed, and what construc- 
tion he wished to have put upon it. Luther replied, under 
date of the 3d January, 1523, that he felt quite indifferent 
what construction was put upon it. since he was prepared to 
answer for himself in regard to all he either secretly or openly 
did or spoke against the duke — whom he calls "Your princely 
inclemency." That he rather had cause to complain of the 
duke, but was silent, since Christ commanded him to be well- 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



265 



disposed even towards his enemies. That he had hitherto ob- 
served this and would also observe it in future in his humble 
prayer, offering to serve the duke without sinister expectations. 
That if this were despised, he would not, on that account, 
suffer an empty bubble to frighten him to death. Duke George, 
upon this, directed his complaints to the elector, opening a 
lengthy correspondence with him on the subject. 

A controversy of a sharper kind Luther had with king 
Henry the VIII., of England, who had written a book against 
Luther's treatise, De Captiintate Babylonica, (p. 172,) which 
being translated into German, was published at Leipzig, in the 
year 1522, under the tide: "Defence and maintenance of the 
seven sacraments against Martin Luther." In the preface to 
the reader he says : That in former times, when no one had as- 
sailed the Church, there was no need of any one to defend it. 
But that since now an enemy had arisen, worse than any before 
him, who, at the instigation of the devil, pretended Christian 
love, whilst he, all the while, in his rage and hatred, was pour- 
ing out the poison of asps against the Church ; it was highly 
necessary for every servant of Christ, no matter of what age, 
sex, or station he might be, to arise against this common foe of 
the Christian faith. Of Luther he says : " Oh, what an instigator 
of hateful pride, reproach and division in Christendem is this! 
What a fiendish, hellish wolf is he, seeking ways and means to 
destroy the sheep of Christ ! What a veritable member of 
Satan is he, attempting to tear the believing members of Christ 
from their head ! How corrupt is his soul, how accursed his 
undertaking, who not only revives the long-buried schisms, but 
adds new ones to the former, and again brings up to the light, 
like the infernal dog Cerberus, the heresies which ought to be 
consigned to eternal darkness, having so exalted an opinion of 
himself that he rejects all the Fathers, and wishes the whole 
Church to be governed, (or rather seduced,) solely according to 
his directions." 

In opposition to this writing, Luther wrofe, in Latin and 
German, "Answer to King Henry VIII. of England's book 
against his tract on the Babylonian captivity." In the intro- 
duction he ridicules the idea, that, as it was said, the king 
should, as a reward, have received from Rome the title of 
Defensor ecclesice, or protector of the Church, and that indul- 
gences were distributed to those who read his book. He then 
comes to speak of the report, that, in the estimation of many, 



266 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



King Henry did not write the book himself. "That is matter 
of indifference to me," said he, " whether King Henry, or Con- 
rad, or the devil himself wrote it. He that speaks falsely, 
speaks falsehood ; therefore I do not fear him. I conceive that 
King Henry gave a yard or two of coarse cloth towards it, and 
that venomous knave and calumniator who wrote against Eras- 
mus, or some one like him, cut out the cap and lined it. But 
I shall take it off for them and attach bells to it, if God per- 
mit." He now, in the first place, distinguishes two kinds of 
subjects as having been treated of by him in his writings : the 
one kind being faith, love, good works, hope, tribulation and 
the cross, death, baptism, repentance, the sacrament of the 
altar, the law of God, sin, the grace of God, free will, Christ, 
God, the final judgment, heaven and hell, the Christian Church, 
excommunication and the like ; that these are the proper sub- 
jects which a Christian must know, and in which our salvation 
lies. " And in these subjects," says he, " as I have taught them, 
I shall always abide and say : Whoever teaches differently on 
these points than I have taught, or who condemns me in these 
things, he condemns God, and must remain a child of hell ; for 
I know that these doctrines are not my doctrines. Defiance to 
all devils and men who attempt to subvert them ! " That on 
these subjects he had always been of the same opinion. But 
that the other subjects, as the papacy, the decrees of the coun- 
cils, the teachers, indulgences, purgatory, the mass, universities, 
spiritual vows, bishops of the present time, statutes of men, the 
worshipping of the saints, new sacraments and the like, were 
extraneous from the Scriptures, being like weeds on the field 
of Christianity, sown by Satan and his idol at Rome. That 
against these he had at first written with great moderation, 
having been willing to retain the papacy ; that he had been 
anxious to have the Scriptures in their purity and certainty, 
but had not yet known that these things were opposed to the 
Scriptures. But that when the papists had despised his re- 
spect, and had endeavoured to put their idol in God's stead, he 
had perceived more and more of their falsehoods. "Thus it 
has happened," says he, " that I have been constrained to 
oppose and revoke my first books through the last, in such 
things which are extraneous from the Scriptures. I having 
honoured the papacy too much; and those books I still revoke. 
And if the King of England and all papists should be dis- 
pleased at it, I say, that I regret ever having thought or 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION". 26*7 

written well of the pope or the whole body of the clergy, as it 
now is." . . . "Further I say, I regret having so far humbled 
myself at Worms before the emperor, as to be willing to admit 
judges over my doctrines, and to hear of what error they could 
convict me. For I ought not to have shown such foolish 
humility, because I was sure of being right, and it did not, in 
the end, accomplish any good with the tyrants. We must be 
so sure of our cause, that though the whole world opposed it, 
every one nevertheless would remain firm." 

Upon this he says, that all the arguments of the king against 
him might be summed up under these three heads : Firstly, 
that the king accused him of having written against himself, 
and that his doctrine could not be true because it did not agree 
with itself; secondly, that he had written against the pope 
from hatred and envy, that he was mordacious and censorious 
and self-conceited, and wished to be alone wise, and the like ; 
thirdly, that the king quoted only one passage from the Scrip- 
tures in his whole book, and this falsely ; his whole argumen- 
tation consisting in this : I believe, that so it is right. Again, so 
long has it been observed. Again, so large a number of peo- 
ple cannot err. Again, several holy Fathers said this and 
that. Having then refuted these arguments, he reviews the 
separate points which the king had attempted to sustain 
against him, namely, indulgences, the papacy, both kinds, 
transubstantiation, and the mass as a sacrifice. The other six 
sacraments he defers, " for the translation of the Bible into 
German, besides other matters, claim my attention, so that I 
cannot now further dabble in Henry's filth. I shall, however, 
if God permit, take time and fully answer that venomous and 
mendacious blasphemer, King Henry, and so depict him that 
he shall be convinced of Luther's having answered him, and 
cause him to discover whether I proceed without Scripture 
and faith. I conceive, however, that he undertook the compo- 
sition of this book from a devotion which proceeds from his 
evil conscience ; for he well knows with what conscience he 
possesses the kingdom of England, after the royal race has 
been murdered and the royal blood been extirpated. He fears 
for himself, lest that blood might be revenged upon him. 
Therefore he hopes by attaching himself to the pope and flat- 
tering him, to secure himself upon his throne. In this way he 
formerly attached himself to the emperor, and subsequently to 
the King of France ; for thus it is customary for tyrannical and 



268 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



evil consciences to act. They match well together, the pope 
and Henry of England. The former, I conceive, has inherited 
his papacy with just as good a conscience as the lalter his 
kingdom. Therefore they flatter one another, as mules are 
wont to rub one another when they are together. You papists 
shall not accomplish," he says, finally, "what you have in con- 
templation, do what you may. To this Gospel, which I. Mar- 
tin Luther have preached, popes, bishops, priests, monks, kings, 
princes, devils, death, sin and everything that is not of Christ 
and in Christ, shall yield and succumb, and nothing shall pre- 
vent it." 

To a friend, who, to meet the objections of his adversaries, 
had desired of him the reason why he had replied to the King 
of England with so much severity, Luther wrote : That he had 
done so from a considerate spirit, and that he did not intend to 
exercise any gentleness towards those mendacious blasphemers 
in future; he appealed to the example of Christ, of Peter and 
Paul, and to the fact, that his former humble submission had 
accomplished no good ; that none who cordially received his 
doctrines would take offence at his severity ; but that it must 
be so, few only would remain firmly attached to the Gospel. 
"In one word," says he in conclusion, "it shall, at its proper 
time appear, why 1 am severe. Whoever will not believe that 
it proceeds from a good heart and is right, may have his 
thoughts, he will some time have to acknowledge it. My most 
gracious lord indeed likewise, and many other friends besides, 
have, by their communications admonished me ; but my an- 
swer invariably has been, that I will not and shall not desist 
from it. My cause is not an indifferent cause which can yield 
and turn to the right and the left, as 1 have foolishly done 
heretofore. Herewith I commend you to God." 

About this time Luther also had negotiations with the 
Pikards, or Bohemian Brethren, who had sent messengers to 
him to question him concerning their faith; he found every- 
thing to be pretty sound in their doctrines, on\y that they em- 
ployed obscure and strange expressions, instead of the language 
of the Scriptures. He was likewise dissatisfied that they 
regarded the baptism of infants as productive of no fruit, and 
yet baptized them, yea, even rebaplized those who passed over 
to them, and that they received seven sacraments. The celi- 
bacy of the priests, as observed among them, pleased him, 
because they did not demand it as something necessary, but 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



269 



left it optional. Concerning whether they taught the true 
doctrine in reference to faith and works, he was not yet satis- 
fied, but he very much doubted it. He complained, that, in 
fact, nowhere in the world was the Gospel to be found in all 
its purity. 

But because a report was circulated, that some among the 
Bohemians were labouring once more to bring them under the 
power of the papal see, as they would otherwise never have 
peace, Luther (under date of the 10th July, 1522,) wrote to the 
Bohemian estates : That formerly he had, indeed, been very 
unfavourably disposed towards the Bohemians before he had 
known that the pope was the true Anti-Christ; but that now 
he had so praised their disobedience towards the papists, that 
he was accused of being a native Bohemian or of intending to 
flee to the Bohemians. That he hoped, both Germans and Bo- 
hemians would yet, through the Divine Word, come to be of 
one mind and name, if they only patiently waited for the 
mercy of God and meanwhile bore with one another, if one or 
the other party was deficient in any respect. That they should 
not be perplexed if sects and divisions arose among them, since 
this would have to be so, according to 1 Cor. xi. ; and that 
they would not, by subjection to the papal see, prevent their 
being further divided into sects, since there was nothing but 
division and sects wherever the pope's tyranny prevailed ; that 
the true preaching of the Gospel alone makes a united people. 
** But if," says he in conclusion, " it should be impossible to pre- 
vent the people from rendering such assent to the Roman see, 
I yet pray your highnesses, reverences and honours, to grant 
me this request, that you firmly oppose the pernicious and 
blasphemous see at Rome, by the retention of both kinds in the 
holy sacrament, and also by your not condemning the innocent 
blood of your blessed John Huss and Jerome of Prague and 
their doctrines ; for these two articles the blasphemous see, the 
harlot, which is intoxicated with the blood of the saints, will 
vigorously demand of you and require you to observe. It will 
not and cannot receive you without diminishing its tyrannical 
power, unless you abjure the above mentioned two articles. 
But all those that do abjure them shall know, through my testi- 
mony before God and the world, that they abjure the Lord 
Christ, and are children of perdition and eternal damnation. 
Verily, I and our people shall defend John Huss, the holy mar- 



270 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



tyr of Christ, and though all Bohemia, which may God prevent, 
should deny his doctrines, he shall yet be ours." 

Luther also dedicated the Latin edition of his writing against 
the King of England to Sebastian Schlick, count of Passun and 
lord of Elnbogen, because the king had said in his writing that 
Luther intended, in case the Germans should discover in him 
the wolf and expel him from their country, to flee into the 
country of the Bohemians, whose errors he had long since em- 
braced. " Yes," said Luther in the dedication, " but that he 
meditated a different flight to the Bohemians from that which 
the papistical soothsayers were prophesying, a flight, on ac- 
count of which they should feel a still more poignant sting 
pierce their hearts, according to the words of Moses : 4 1 will 
move you to jealousy with those who are not a people ; I will 
provoke you to anger with a foolish nation/ For that he in- 
tended, with the help of Christ, shortly to accomplish it through 
his books, that the Bohemians would be delivered from their 
disgrace, but the papists become an abomination to all the 
world." 

Among the writings which Luther published in the year 
1522, belong the following: 

" Bulla Casna Domini, that is, the bull concerning the evening 
meal of the most holy lord, the pope, translated into German by 
Doctor Martin Luther" This is the bull which it is customary 
annually to read at Rome, on Maundy-Thursday, and in which 
all heretics, among others Luther too, are anathematized, it 
being here translated and accompanied with cutting remarks. 
By way of appendix there is an explanation of the 9th (10th) 
Psalm, as " marginal notes of King David on this bull." 

Faithful warning to all Christians to beware of insurrection 
and rebellion, (written whilst yet at the Wartburg, compare 
p. 230.) As arguments, for the purpose of calming the minds 
of the common people and inducing them to refrain even from 
the desires and words which tend to insurrection, and from 
undertaking anything for the furtherance of the cause without 
command from the authorities, he adduces : firstly, that God 
wished to be and would himself be the revenger here, that the 
papacy could not be destroyed by the hand of man or insur- 
rections. Secondly, even if it were possible, it would not be 
a useful course and would accomplish no good. That in 
insurrections reason was not exercised, and that the innocent 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 271 

commonly suffered more than the guilty ; that, therefore, no 
insurrection was right, how just soever the cause, which it ad- 
vocated. Thirdly, that insurrection was forbidden by God. 
Fourthly, that insurrection in this cause was assuredly the in- 
stigation of the devil, who designed in this way to bring 
reproach upon the doctrines of the Gospel. But that he should 
not succeed in this, and therefore he prayed all who wished to 
be called Christians not to give cause to the adversaries to 
blaspheme their doctrines. 

But that, if it were asked, what was to be done in case the 
authorities would not take the matter in hand, whether the 
wicked course of the enemies was to be approved ; he answer- 
ed : no ; but that three things were to be done. Firstly, there 
should be an acknowledgment of sin, on account of which 
God's rigid justice had sent such an anti-christian government 
as a punishment. Secondly, there should be humble prayer 
against the papal government. Thirdly, each one should per- 
mit his own mouth to be a mouth of the Spirit of Christ, of 
whom St. Paul says : Our Lord Jesus will slay him by the 
mouth of His Spirit. That in this way the cause was much 
more promoted than by means of a hundred insurrections. That 
a bodily insurrection was not to be desired, Christ having 
already begun one with His mouth, which would be quite too 
intolerable for the pope. " It is not my work which is now 
progressing in the world. It is not possible that a man should 
alone begin and direct so great an undertaking. It has suc- 
ceeded so far without my contrivance or design ; it shall finally 
triumph also without my counsel, and the gates of hell shall 
not prevent it. It is another man who turns the wheel, him 
the papists do not see and they charge us with it ; but they 
shall very soon discover the truth." 

In conclusion, he also speaks against those who perhaps had 
read a page or two, or heard a sermon, and now were con- 
tinually engaged in assailing others who were not evangelical, 
not considering that these sometimes were people who would 
willingly receive the truth if it were taught them ; and that 
this they did, wishing to be considered as knowing something 
new, and as being good Lutherans. To them he says : " In the 
first place I pray, that all would keep silence about my name, 
and not call themselves Lutherans, but Christians. What is 
Luther 1 The doctrine truly is not mine. Neither have I been 
crucified for any one. St. Paul, 1 Cor. iii., would not permit 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 

the Christians to call themselves of Paul, or of Peter, but of 
Christ. How then should I, poor filth}' mass of corruption, 
come to the honour of having the children of Christ called by 
my unworthy name ? Not so, my dear friends, let us extirpate 
party names and be called after Christ, whose doctrines we 
have. The papists deservedly have a party name, because 
they are not satisfied with the doctrines and the name of Christ, 
and wish to be popish; therefore let them be called after the 
pope who is their master. I am not and do not wish to be any 
one's master. 1, in common with the Church, have the one 
universal doctrine of Christ, who alone is our Master. Matt, 
xxiii." That we, in the second place, are to consider with 
whom we speak, and make a distinction between those that 
are obdurate and refuse to hear, whilst they poison others 
wit h their falsehoods, and those that have not been sufficiently 
instructed and would learn if they were taught, or who are 
too weak easily to comprehend the truth. That with the 
former we are to have no dealings, but are to act in accord- 
ance with the declaration of Christ. Matt. vii. : " Give not that 
which is holy unto the dogs," &c. That with the latter we are 
to have patience according to the words of Paul: "The weak 
in the faith receive." 

The u Little book concerning the avoiding of the doctrines of 
men, besides an answer to the passages quoted in support of the 
doctrines of men" contains what ihe title indicates. 

And the writing : " Opinion concerning receiving the sacra- 
ment under both kinds and concerning other innovations" written 
soon after his return from the Wartburg, treats of the subjects 
discussed in the eight sermons, (p 245). 

Finally in the writing: "Against the falsely called spiritual 
station of the pope and of the bishops" after stating why on the 
title page, he called himself an ' ecclesiastes, by the grace of 
God,' and why it was proper and necessary to rebuke those in 
high, especially spiritual stations, he contrasts the character- 
istics of a true bishop, according to 1 Tim. iii., and Tit. i., and 
of a papal bishop, according to 2 Tim. iii., and 2 Pet. ii., at the 
same time pointing out the virtues of the latter, to warn every 
person against them. He concludes with the words: "God 
grant us His grace and again send into His harvest failhful 
labourers, and may He rebuke the murderers and set on fire 
their city, since they, without ceasing, cast out of the vineyard 
His servants and His Son. Amen." 



272 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



2*3 



He likewise published the Annotationes Phil. Melanchlhonis 
in Epistolas Pauli ad Romanos el Corinthios, (Annotations of 
Philip Melanchthon to the Epistles of Paul to the Romans 
and Corinthians,) without Melanchthon's knowledge, telling 
him that it was his own fault, because he had not published 
them himself, and had so often suffered himself to be prayed 
and urged in vain. He should not say that the Holy Scriptures 
were to be read without any commentaries : that might be 
true of other commentaries, but his annotations were not com- 
mentaries, but a direction for reading the Holy Scriptures and 
learning to know Christ, which had not been afforded by any 
commentator before. 

In this year there also appeared the translation of the New 
Testament. Luther had already finished the translation of the 
entire New Testament at the Wartburg, and after his return 
to Wittenberg, he began, in company with Melanchthon, 
thoroughly to correct the whole, in order, with the assistance 
of God, to produce something substantial. Spalatin's aid he 
likewise invoked, in order to supply him with suitable expres- 
sions, and to ascertain the names and the colours of the pre- 
cious stones mentioned in the twenty-first chapter of Revela- 
tions, and if possible, from the court or from some other 
sources, to obtain the gems themselves for inspection. But to 
Hartmuth von Kronberg he wrote : " I have undertaken to 
translate the Bible into German. This was necessary for me ; 
I should otherwise probably have died in the error of having 
considered myself learned. All who imagine themselves to be 
learned ought to engage in such labour." He. at different 
times, transmitted single finished parts to Spalatin and Duke 
John ; excepting these, not a sheet was given to any one. The 
printing seemed to him to proceed slowly, though three presses 
daily threw off" ten thousand sheets ; on St. Matthew's day at 
length it was completed. 3 

Lufher immediately applied himself to the Old Testament. 
On the 3d November he was engaged in translating the book 
of Leviiicus. Letters, business, intercourse, and many other 
things checked his progress, but he determined to lock himself 
up at home and to hasten the work, in order to have the Pen- 
tateuch ready for the press by January. For this was to be pub- 
lished separately, afterwards the historical books, and lastly 
the prophets. The extent of the labour and the price made the 
division and the gradual publication necessary. On the 15th 

18 



274 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATIO^. 



December the translation of the Pentateuch and a second 
edition of the New Testament were completed, and now the 
revision and the printing of the Pentateuch were begun 4 

Against this translation of the New Testament there was 
issued, on Friday after All Saints, a mandate of Duke George of 
Saxony, in which he, with reference to the former prohibition 
of Luther's writings, commands all his subjects who might 
have "such new translated books" in their possession, to 
deliver them to the nearest court, and in order that no one 
might complain, the duke had, from abundant favour, added 
the injunction to pay out to every one the money expended for 
the books. 

Upon this Luther wrote the " Writing concerning the tempo- 
ral government, how far we are to obey it" which, under date of 
the 1st Jan., 1523, he dedicated to Duke John of Saxony. In 
the preface he speaks concerning princes whom God had made 
mad, so that they did not think otherwise but that they might 
do and command their subjects whatever they chose, and who 
were also beginning to enjoin upon the people to put away 
from them their books, and to believe and to observe what 
they themselves proposed. That he was constrained to resist 
such, and as he had not feared their idol, the pope, who was 
threatening to deprive him of his soul and of heaven, so he 
would not fear his advocates, those empty bubbles, who were 
threatening to deprive him of his body and of the earth. 

In the first part of the treatise he demonstrates that the tem- 
poral government is the ordinance of God, adduces the passages 
upon which the same is based, explains those which seem to 
oppose the temporal sword, and proves that the Gospel con- 
firms the temporal sword, and shows that both powers, the 
temporal and the spiritual, were to be well distinguished from 
each other. 

In the second part he shows how far the power of the govern- 
ment extends, namely, only over the body and property and ex- 
ternal things upon earth, since over the soul God could not 
and would not permit any one to rule but himself alone, and 
if the temporal power should presume to give laws to the soul, 
it would interfere with the government of God, seduce and de- 
stroy the souls of men. That the temporal government must 
particularly abstain from compelling any person to believe, 
since faith was to be a free act, yea, was a Divine work in the 
Spirit, and could not* be exacted or produced by external 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



275 



power. That men could not be constrained further thau to 
yield obedience with their mouths and their hands, the heart 
it was impossible to compel ; but that the effect would be to 
constrain weak consciences to dissimulate and to deny, and 
that all such dissimulation and false confessions would be laid 
to the charge of those who exacted them. But that God had 
given over to a perverse mind the temporal as well as the 
spiritual princes : that the latter, the pope and the bishops, in- 
stead of teaching God's Word and guiding the souls by it, had 
become temporal lords ; the temporal lords, on the other hand, 
whose government was sunk as low as that of the spiritual 
tyrants, wished to exercise spiritual rule over the souls of men, 
thus bringing upon themselves the sins of others and the 
hatred of God and of men, till finally they would be wrecked 
along with bishops, priests and monks, one knave with the 
other. But that the temporal power had no authority to 
require anything in matters of faith, and if, for instance, it 
was commanded in Meissen, Bavaria, and the Mark, to deliver 
the New Testament to the government officers, it could not be 
done without hazard to the soul, since he that did so was 
delivering Christ into the hands of Herod. But that if books 
and property were taken away by force, it should be endured, 
since evil was not to be resisted but to be endured. But if 
any one should object that the temporal power did not exact 
faith, but wished only to prevent the people from being seduced 
into false doctrines, otherwise heretics could not be resisted at 
all, he answered : " This is the work of the bishops, to them 
such office is committed, and not to the princes. For heresy 
can never be prevented by means of power, there must be 
other means called into requisition here, for this is not a con- 
test and a dispute for the sword. God's Word must be wielded 
here ; if that does not accomplish anything, temporal power 
will not accomplish anything though it should fill the world 
with blood. Heresy is a spiritual thing, which cannot be cut 
with iron, burnt with fire, or drowned with water." 

Tn the third part he says to those who desire to be Christian 
princes and lords, and hope also to enter into eternal life : 
" Whoever, therefore, wishes to be a Christian prince, must 
undoubtedly divest himself of a disposition to rule and to em- 
ploy violence. For accursed and condemned is all life which 
consists in seeking one's own advantage and profit. Accursed 
all works which do not proceed from love. But they pro- 



276 



THE 6TRUGGLE8 OF THE REFORMATION. 



ceed from love, when one's own pleasure, advantage, honour, 
convenience and salvation do not form the object of them, but 
the advantage, honour, and salvalion of others is earnestly 
sought." Upon this he draws the picture of a truly pious 
ruler, and in conclusion sums up the whole thus : " A prince 
must attend to four particulars: firstly, to true confidence in 
God and heartfelt prayer to Him; secondly, to love and 
Christian service towards his subjects ; thirdly, to the exercise 
of sound reason and unbiassed judgment towards his coun- 
sellors and men in power ; fourthly, to becoming severity and 
rigour towards evil-doers." 

Authorities.— Let. No. 869, 379, 371, 381, 383, 403, 417. 
(Works, vol. 18, p. 192.) M. 'Job. Schmid's Zwickauer Chronik, vol. 
1, p. 385. Cyprian Urkunden, vol. % p. 264. Mel. Epp. in the Corp. 
Reff., vol. 1, No. 218, (ell. Spalatini Annales in Mencken Script. Rer. 
Germ., Tom. II., p. 617). Works, vol. 18, p. 215. Let. No. 375. 
(Works, vol. 18, p. 226.) The correspondence in the dispute between 
Duke George and Luther, chronologically arranged, and in part cor- 
rected and printed from the originals, in J. R. Seidemann's Eriituterun- 
gen zur Reformationsgeschichte durch bisher unbekannte Urkunden, 
p. 59, sq. The writing of Henry VI LI., according to the German 
translation which appeared at Leipzig in 1522. The "Answer to King 
Henry VIII. of England's book," &c, Works, vol. 18, p. 193. Let. 
No. 428, 412, 418, 419. (The writing of Henry Vlll. Djj.) The 
writing: Bulla CcenaB Domini, Works, vol. 18, p. f! The writing : 
Faithful warning to all Christians, &c, ib., p. 2«8. The writing : A 
little book concerning the avoiding of the doctrines of men, &c, ib. p. 
18. The writing : Opinion concerning both kinds, &c., ib., p. 185. 
The writing: Against the falsely called spiritual station, &c, ib., p. 27. 
Let. No. 424, 380, 375, 376, 421, 429, 436, 444. Works, vol. 18, p. 
284. The writing : Concerning the temporal government, &c, ib., 
p. 385, 

Notes. — 1.) The Zwickau Chronicle gives the much more reduced 
estimate of 14,000. Concerning this journey of Luther, which was not 
without great danger to him, since it required him to pass part of the 
way through the territory of Duke George, who even called upon others 
to execute the edict of Worms against him, compare Seckend., p. 250, 
sq., and Lingke, Luther's Reisegeschichte. p. 128, sq. 

2 ) He was a Franconian knight, possessor of the small town and 
castle of Kronberg, in the vicinity of Frankfort on the Maine, brother- 
in-law to Sickingen, and involved in the latter's feuds, in consequence of 
which he was deprived of his possessions. Luther comforted him with 
reference to this. 

3.) It appeared under the title: Das Newe Testament, Deutzsch. 
Vuittenberg, in fol., without information of the author, printer or year, 
for one and a half florins, a high price for that time, and though a coun- 
terfeited edition of it was published the same year at Basle, it was never- 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



277 



thelcss disposed of and exhausted with surprising rapidity. For further 
particulars examine the accounts of the translation of the Bible into 
German, for instance those of Schott, Leipzig, 1835, p. 38, sq. 

4.) This first part of the O. T. made its appearance previously to the 
year 1523, being accompanied with brief marginal notes, and bearing 
the title: das Alte Testament deutsch, M. Luther, Vuittenberg, in 
folio. In the same year there were published two further editions; and 
from 1524-1528, besides many counterfeited impressions, four new 
editions. See Schott, p. 41, sq. 



CHAPTER IV. 

CONTESTS, SUFFERING AND SYMPATHY. 1523 AND 1524. 

To the diet, which was to be held at Nuremberg, Pope Adrian 
VI., (since the 9th Jan., 1522,) despatched a legate, he previ- 
ously, however, through one of his chamberlains, Jerome Rora- 
rius, sent a breve, dated the 5th October, 1522, to the Elector 
Frederick, in order " to assure him of his favourable disposition 
and paternal interest in the common good," and to exhort him 
that he would, in accordance with his office and vocation as 
an elector of the holy realm and an advocate and member of 
the Roman Church, show all diligence in exerting himself to 
aid in the defence and maintenance of the dignity and majesty 
of the Apostolical See, yea, of the wholesome and quiet condition 
of Christendom and of the holy faith, and thus, in this, imitate 
his ancestors. He further, under date of the 25th November, 
1522, transmitted a breve to the other estates of the realm 
assembled at Nuremberg, in which he complains, that Luther, 
notwithstanding the sentence lawfully pronounced upon him 
at Worms and published throughout all Germany, had never- 
theless escaped unpunished, and with the piercing arrows of 
his venomous tongue was spreading abroad new books full of 
error, heresy, calumny and insurrection, thus corrupting the 
hearts and morals of the pious in Germany and other surround- 
ing countries far and wide. It was hoped, however, that the 
pious and valorous German nation, among which there had 
been so many excellent men in doctrine and sanctity, would 
not suffer an apostate monk to seduce it from the path which 
our Redeemer and His apostles had pointed out. He exhorts 
them to forget all feuds which might perhaps exist between 
them, and with all diligence to apply themselves to the extin- 



278 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



guishing of this general conflagration, and if Luther and other 
instigators of these errors would not be reclaimed, to employ 
against them the rods of severity and punishment, for that it 
was necessary to employ severe and cauterizing remedies 
against so dreadful a fistula, and wholly to amputate the inju- 
rious members from the sound part of the body. That this had 
often been done, and that their ancestors had thus, with de- 
served punishment, rewarded John Huss and Jerome of Prague, 
who had again been revived in Luther. That his legate, 
Franciscus Cheregat, bishop of Abruzzo, would make known 
to them what he had further to communicate. 

In the instruction given to this legate there are advanced 
various other arguments for the purpose of inducing the 
estates to proceed with the execution of the papal sentence and 
imperial mandate. This petition, produced at the Diet, (which 
began on the 13th Dec, 1522,) by the papal legate, Luther 
translated into German and published, accompanying it with 
marginal notes. Among other things he observed, in connec- 
tion with the passage in which the pope declared that the 
reformation ought not proceed rashly, but step by step, that by 
this was meant that one step was to be a thousand years 
apart from the other. But the estates of the realm replied to 
what had been said in reference to Luther : " That they were 
exceedingly grieved at the injury which the Church had sus- 
tained, and at the errors and the corruption which had sprung 
up in it, and that they would very willingly do whatever could 
be done by means of punishment, for the removal of these 
things. But that the papal sentences and imperial mandates 
against Luther had thus far not been executed, this was owing 
to important considerations. That all the estates of the Ger- 
man nation had been so insufferably aggrieved by the various 
abuses of the court of Rome and of the spiritual estates, and 
had now been so much instructed by means of Luther's writ- 
ings, that if vigorous proceedings were instituted against him 
according to the directions of the aforesaid sentences and man- 
dates, it would assuredly be looked upon as a tyrannical sup- 
pression of evangelical truth, and as a confirmation of un- 
christian and grievous abuses, from which there would then 
undoubtedly, result great insurrection, secession, and rebellion 
against the authorities." That meanwhile, and up to the free 
Christian council, (concerning which they likewise had nego- 
tiated,) the vicegerent of his imperial majesty, with the 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



279 



electors, princes, and other estates of the realm, would obtain 
from the elector of Saxony, in whose principality Luther dwelt, 
that Luther and his adherents should not further be permitted 
to write or to publish anything. Besides this reply to the 
papal communication and the petition of the legate, the tem- 
poral estates also presented their grievances, under which 
they laboured from the papal see and other spiritual estates, 
and begged to have them redressed, adding : " But if such 
grievances should not be satisfactorily redressed within a speci- 
fied time, which the temporal estates assuredly do not expect, 
the) 7 do not wish to conceal from your holiness, that they can 
no longer endure such insufferable and pernicious grievances, 
but would be compelled by necessity to think of other suitable 
ways and means for themselves, in order to be delivered from 
such oppressive and vexatious burdens of the spiritual estates," 
The decrees of the diet were put together in a writing, and 
it was commanded under pain of punishment to obey them. 
Concerning this mandate, which was issued in the name of the 
emperor, under date of the 6th March, 1523, Luther published 
the writing : " Declaration to the assembled estates of the realm, 
against the perverters and falsifiers of the imperial mandate. 11 
In this he says, that he had most humbly and with deep grati- 
tude received this decree, and diligently made it known to the 
people ; but that many, even among the princes and lords, 
were presuming to interpret it as they found it convenient. 
"Since they therefore wholly pervert the meaning, and, to the 
injury of the Gospel, give an insufferable explanation, I have 
found it necessary to defend myself and those of the same mind 
with me, and to warn those that are deceived, as well as to 
publish our explanation and to show how far we can submit, 
in which I sincerely trust nothing will be found to oppose this 
mandate or the intention of your highnesses. And in order 
not to detain your highnesses with a lengthy account, we shall 
include the whole under four articles." That the first article: 
" To preach the Gospel according to the interpretation of the 
teachers that are received and approved by the Church," was 
interpreted as signifying that the Gospel was not to be 
preached otherwise than it had thus far been preached in the 
universities, endowed institutions and cloisters, according to 
their teachers, Thomas, Scot us, and what the Roman Church 
had approved. But that nothing of all this was contained in 
the mandate, it speaking of the " Christian Church," and that 



280 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



by the teachers were evidently meant the most ancient teach- 
ers, as Augustine, Cyprian, Hilarius and others. " Although it 
is well known that even those teachers did not always write 
and teach correctly, and we insist that the Christian Church 
never did receive them, and could not receive them any fur.her 
than St. Augustine, that special light of the Christian Church, 
is accustomed to receive them, in that he teaches and says: It 
is only to the holy books which are called canonical that 1 give 
the honour of believing that none of their authors erred; all 
the rest I read so, as no matter how exalted they may seem in 
skill and sanctity, never to deem anything right, simply be- 
cause they deem it so ; but I require of them to substantiate it 
to me with passages from the Holy Scriptures, or clear argu- 
ments. Here, we perceive, that St. Augustine draws a bound- 
ary in receiving teachers, subjecting them all to the decision 
of the Holy Scriptures, as is just ; that beyond this boundary 
no one is to be received, let him he as holy and learned as he 
may. This estimation of the teachers, whom the Christian 
Church has received and approved, we conceive also to be in- 
tended in the mandate, and we shall not and cannot endure 
any other, let what will befall us on account of it, whatever 
God may permit. And it necessarily flows from it that it is to 
be taken in this sense. For since the mandate was published 
with the view to have a free council, and meanwhile to let the 
matter rest, it cannot be intended that we should keep silence 
and with the others preach the former nonsense as they con- 
strue it. For if this were intended, what need would there be 
of a council ? Why should it be pretended to defer the matter 
to a council, if this mandate, as was thought, had already pro- 
nounced a sentence far more severe than any which a future 
council would likely pronounce, even if it should come to the 
worst decision against us." Therefore he had so interpreted it 
to the people, that the matter should rest till the council, and 
that the adversaries were to desist from their scholastic dis- 
putes, which, being drawn from St. Thomas and the universi- 
ties, occasioned nothing but strife, and instead were to teach 
only the pure Gospel. Concerning the second article : " That 
the archbishops and bishops should appoint learned men, con- 
versant with the Holy Scriptures, who were to exercise an 
oversight over such preaching, and were kindly and gently to 
instruct those who erred therein ; that those, however, that 
would not be instructed should be properly punished, that it 



TflE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



28i 



might not seem as if it were intended to hinder or to suppress 
the truth of the Gospel," he says : " That this article was want- 
ing in nothing, except that no one would observe it, since it 
was far too good. For whence should men, conversant with 
the Scriptures, be taken, since none had applied themselves to 
them, and how should those, who had heretofore been accus- 
tomed to excommunicate, to anathematize, to burn and to 
rave, humble themselves so much as kindly and gently to in- 
struct the erring !" That the third article : ** From that time to 
the council, were not to publish or keep for sale any new 
works unless they had first been examined by intelligent men 
appointed by the government," had been adopted already in 
the previous year, by the university of Wittenberg. But that 
by this was not meant, that the Scriptures, or what had thus 
far already been published, should be forbidden to be printed 
or sold. That the fourth article : " That spiritual persons, who 
married and forsook their order, should be punished according 
to the canon law, namely, be deprived of their liberty, privi- 
leges and prebends, and that the temporal authorities should 
not prevent such punishment," did indeed seem severe, but if 
the others were observed, it could also be endured. 

The pope, displeased because of the bad success of his former 
communication, had despatched a second and more severe one 
to the elector of Saxony, which menacingly concluded thus: 
"Pope Adrian and the pious emperor Charles, whose truly 
Christian mandate against the Lutheran heresy thou hast not 
dreaded to violate, live in perfect agreement. Therefore turn 
you and repent, thou and thy unhappy, seduced Saxons ; unless 
you wish to have both swords, the papal and the imperial, put 
in requisition against you." The elector replied : That he did 
not doubt but that the pope had thus expressed himself in his 
communication, not of his own accord, but at the instigation 
of his enemies. That it had been and still was his intention 
so to deport himself as it became a Christian and a dutiful son 
of the Christian Church. His ambassador at the imperial 
government, however, John von der Planitz, he directed seri- 
ously to represent the matter to the papal legate. This Planitz 
informed the elector, that it was almost inconceivable what a 
cry the spiritual estates had raised at the Diet, as often as Lu- 
ther's affair had been brought forward, that many menaces 
were likewise circulated against the elector, wherefore his 
advice was, either to remove Luther from Wittenberg, or in 



282 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



time to think of help, since Luther was openly accused of de- 
stroying the prosperity of the realm. That King Ferdinand 
was aroused with zeal against Luther's cause, and had said, 
that he would rather his sister, the queen of Denmark, had 
been drowned in the sea, than that she should have conversed 
with Luther at Wittenberg. 1 

But Luther would hear nothing of concealing himself a 
second time. "Do not imagine," he wrote, on the 12th Jan., 
1523, to Spalatin, "that I shall again return into a corner, let 
Behemoth and his supporters rave as they may." But to the 
elector he, under date of the 29th May, transmitted a letter, of 
which the same, if he saw proper, might make further use. 
His intention — says he in this — had never been to calumniate 
any one, whether of high or low degree, nor to preach or to 
write anything which might occasion insurrection in the realm, 
or error among Christians, bat that he had wished to write 
and to preach what might conduce to the confirmation and 
honour of God's Word, of faith and of love to men, and thus to 
the salvation of Christians in general. That he had written 
with so much severity and earnestness against some, had not 
been done without cause, albeit, without hatred, that he well 
knew how this severity in his style of writing had displeased 
many of his enemies and friends, even the elector himself, who 
had also, on several occasions, caused him to be checked in 
this respect. That he had, moreover, without the advice, 
knowledge, and consent of the elector, at his own hazard, re- 
turned to Wittenberg during the previous year, not to prove 
burdensome to any one. but to attend to the little flock which 
God had committed to his care. That he would willingly re- 
frain from writing, especially from harsh writing, if his enemies, 
especially John Faber and Emser, desisted from publishing one 
book after the other, with various blasphemies, not onl}- against 
his Christian name, but also against the holy Gospel. Under 
date of the 12th October, he again quieted the elector through 
Spalatin, and wrote : " I very well remember what I wrote to 
the elector from Borna, (see p. 238,) and merely wish that you 
could believe that it will come to pass thus, especially since 
you now plainly see how the hand of God has, contrary to all 
expectation, preserved me for nearly two years, and the elector 
not on\y is secure, but the raving of the princes against him 
has greatly moderated, compared with what it was in the first 
year. It is an easy matter for Christ to protect the prince in 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



280 



this my cause, in which he has become involved without 
reason, simply according to the will of God. If 1 kne w of any 
mode to disentangle him from this cause without reproach to 
the Gospel, I should hazard my own life to accomplish it* I 
had hoped that in the course of a year I should be destroyed, 
and this I thought would be the way in which he would be de- 
livered, if, indeed, this would have been the case even after 
my removal. But now, since we are not able to search and to 
comprehend the counsel of God, it will be most safe for us to 
say : Thy will be done. Nor have I any fear that the elector 
will be disturbed as long as he does not publicly confess and 
approve my cause. But why he has to bear my reproach is 
known to God ; thus much is certain, however, that it does 
him no injury, but much rather proves the greatest blessing to 
him." 

About this time, there in many places arose severe perse- 
cutions against those that confessed the Gospel. Luther 
thought that he, of whom it was said, that he was the first 
who had again brought these doctrines to light, justly con- 
sidered himself last, as one who never had endured such per- 
secutions and tribulation on accounfrof the name and word of 
Christ, and perhaps never would become worthy to endure 
them ; but that he comforted himself with the thought, that 
their bonds were his bonds, their prison his prison, their joy 
his joy ! He could therefore not neglect to visit such captive 
and suffering members of Christ with the comfort of God's 
Word. 

Thus he wrote to three court-ladies, Hannah von Draschwitz, 
Milia von Oelsnitz, and Ursula von Feilitzsch, who had been 
exiled from the court of Freiberg, for reading Luther's books ; 
that they should not wish those that had been the cause of this 
any evil, but do as St Paul taught, 1 Cor. iv. 12 : "If we are 
reviled, we bless," as also Christ, Mtitt. v. 44 : " Bless those 
that curse you," &c. That it was a Divine cause for which 
they suffered, and God would not permit any one but himself 
to judge or to revenge this, according to the word of the pro- 
phet : " He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of mine eye." 
(Zech. ii. 8.) 

On the 1st July, 1523, there had been burnt at Brussels, on 
account of their confession of the Gospel, two Augustine 
monks, Henri/ Vas and John Eschen, who yielded up their 



284 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATIO*?. 



lives with great joyfulness 2 Upon this Luther published a 
missive to the " Christians of Holland and Brabant,' in which 
he congratulates them lor the favour granted them, not only to 
hear the Gospel and to know Christ, but also to be the first 
that had been required to endure reproach, injury, anguish, 
distress, imprisonment and danger for Christ's sake, and who 
had bedewed and confirmed the Gospel with their own blood, 
that two noble treasures of Christ among them, Henry and 
John, had freely yielded up their lives at Brussels, that Christ 
and his Word might be honoured, " Therefore, my dearest 
friends," he wrote, "be of good courage, and be joyful in 
Christ, and let us praise Him for the great signs and wonders 
which He has begun to work among us. He has here placed 
before our eyes new examples of His life. It is time that the 
kingdom of God be not in word but in power. Here is under- 
stood what is said: Rejoice in tribulation. (Rom. xii. 12.) For 
a small moment have I forsaken thee ; but with great mercies will 
I gather thee. And Psalm xci. 14. 15: I will be with him in 
trouble; I will deliver him and honour him, because he hath known 
my name" He likewise composed a hymn in honour of the 
two martyrs, which begins with: " Ein neues Lied wir heben 
an" &c, and which concludes thus : 

Their ashes fly upon the gales, 

And distant lands shall view them, 

Nor brook, nor pit, nor grave avails, 

The foe cannot subdue them. 

Those whom in life, by murderous hand, 

To silence H e had driven, 

Now dead, break forth in every land, 

In joyful songs to Heaven ; 

No fiendish arts assail them. 

But with deceitful lips the foe 
The murderous deed adorneth, 
And falsely notes the tale of wo, 
For conscience inly warneth. 
The saints of God are with the dead, 
But pois'nous tongues assail them, 
And say, that in their final dread 
Their constancy did fail them ; 
And thus they had recanted. 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 285 

But leave them to their false career, 

No gain shall crown them ever ; 

The Word of God sounds far and near ; 

We '11 praise our God forever. 

The summer sun is hastening on, 

Stern winter is retiring ; 

The tender flow'rets grace the lawn, 

And we look on admiring. 

The hand that wrought still guideth. Amen. 

In the same way he honoured the pious martyr Henry von 
Ziitphen, 3 who was cruelly murdered and burnt in the district 
of Ditmarschen, towards the close of the year 1524. He 
caused the history and martyrdom of the same to be investi- 
gated by credible men, and published it in the year 1525, with 
the addition of an explanation of the 9th (10th) Psalm, and an 
address to the friends *n Christ at Bremen, in which he praises 
God for affording evidences of his Spirit, by great and mighty 
deeds wrought through his Word, and says, that these martyrs 
to whom were also to be added Caspar Tauber, burnt at 
Vienna, and George Buchfuhrer, of Hungary, and others, 
would, with their blood, drown the papacy, together with its 
god, and that in this way they had, like the holy martyrs of 
old, sealed the true doctrine. " Such honour," adds he, " those 
never have been able to obtain who have seduced the world 
with their doctrines of works, human righteousness and free 
will. On account of such doctrines Satan does not kill any 
one, he can well endure them, yea, he gives their advocates 
great riches, honour, and power in this world, permitting them 
to lead a quiet and agreeable life." 4 That God had graciously 
visited them at Bremen through this Henry, wherefore they 
should not be sad, or speak evil of his murderers, but rejoice, 
praise, and thank God that he had made them worthy to wit- 
ness such wonders of his gracious visitation. That they ought 
rather to weep and to lament over the murderers and to pray 
for them, that not only they but the whole country of Ditmar- 
schen might be converted and brought to a knowledge of the 
truth, which fruit was comfortingly to be expected from these 
sufferings of Henry. That he, therefore, urged and advised 
them to sing and to read the 9th Psalm in this case, which he 
had briefly explained to them. 

At Augsburg several friends of the Gospel had been inno- 
cently involved in difficulties, "in consequence of the marriage 



2S6 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



of a priest," and were now, in addition to the injury done 
them, made also to endure reproach and disgrace. Luther, 
therefore, (under date of the 11th December, 1523,) wrote to 
them a letter of consolation, saying, that he had not been able 
to omit doing this, since if, through the grace of God, we* were 
in the communion of the saints, and linked as members to- 
gether, we must also relieve the necessities of the saints, and 
sympathize with those that suffer ; if one member suffered, the 
others all suffered along with it; if one was honoured, the 
others all rejoiced. But he comforts them especially with 
the words of Paul : If we wish to rule with Him, we must 
also suffer with Him ; and says: " For if we take delight, in the 
Gospel, and desire to become partakers of its unspeakable 
riches and eternal treasures, we dare not refuse its cross or the 
adversity which it brings with it, not to mention that its riches 
and treasures are eternal, and its adversity temporal, yea, 
momentary." 

In Miltenberg on the Maine, a town of the electorate of 
Mayence, the friends of the Gospel were subjected to a severe 
persecution : The pastor, John Draco, of Karlstadt, had fled ; 
the deacon, who had remained behind, with difficulty escaped 
being put to death ; he and a number of the citizens were kept 
imprisoned. Luther, upon, this, (in February, 1524.) issued a 
waiting under the title: " Christian letter of consolation to the 
Miltenbergers, how they are to revenge themselves upon their 
enemies, according to the 119th (120th) Psalm." In it he 
says : " That it was a rich and proud comfort for them, for the 
sake of God's Word, to suffer such injustice and reproach, even 
though it were called heresy. That they had no reason to 
desire revenge, but that if they were joyful and grateful to 
God for having become worthy to hear his Word, and to suffer 
on account of it, they would, with such joyful spirit, praise and 
gratitude, injure the god of their enemies, the devil, more than 
by slaying a thousand of their enemies. Besides this," con- 
tinued he, "I will inform you of one other thing which shall 
admirably vex him, and which he dreads more than anything 
else. He well knows that there is a little verse in the book of 
Psalms, (Ps. viii. 2,) which runs thus: Out of the mouth of babes 
and sue/dings hast thou ordained strength, because of thine 
enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. This 
verse threatens him, not only with distress and wretchedness, 
but also with utter discomfiture, and that not through great 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



287 



power, which would be an honour to him, but through weak 
sucklings who have no strength. That vexes and grieves the 
mighty and proud spirit, that his great power, his terrible 
raving, his furious revenge, are, without power, to be cast to 
the ground through childish weakness, he not being able to 
prevent it. Here let us help and earnestly assist. We are 
the babes and sucklings who are weak and permit the enemy 
to be mighty and to exercise power over us, so that they speak 
and do what they choose in regard to their affair ; but we have 
to keep silence concerning our cause, and have to suffer, as if we 
could not speak or do anything, being as infant children, whilst 
they are like mighty heroes and giants. But God, neverthe- 
less, through us meanwhile speaks his Word, which exalts 
His grace. That is such a rock and foundation against which 
the gates of hell cannot prevail. Where this course is pursued, 
it finally happens, that some of the enemies who before were 
followers of Satan are also converted. If now he is deprived 
of such followers, through the Word of God, he is rendered 
desolate and weak ; thus then it comes, that, as this verse 
says, there is an end made of the foe and the revenger. For 
that only pleases him, if he can succeed, through his followers, 
to excite us to wrath, revenge, impatience, and sadness. But 
if joy, praise to God, and the glory of his Word result from it, 
it forms his real hell." 

But also with individual suffering members Luther cordially 
sympathized, and willingly communicated to them Christian 
comfort. Thus, at the instance of a third person, he wrote a 
letter of condolence to Bartholomew von Starenberg, who had 
lost his wife by death, and who was now endeavouring, by 
services to God and good works, especially masses and vigils, 
to benefit her soul ; in this letter he reminds him of the word 
of Job, (ch. i. 21,) and says : " Thus are your grace to sing to a 
faithful, loving God, who gave such a dear, faithful wife to 
your grace, and now has taken her away. She was His before 
He gave her ; she was also still His after He had given her; 
she is His even now after He has taken her away ; as we all 
are. Therefore, although it pains us when He takes from us 
His own, yet is the heart to find higher comfort in His best 
will than in all His gifts. For just as God is immeasurably 
better than all His gifts, so also in this case is His will to be 
considered better than the best and noblest wife. Albeit, the 
former is not so tangible as the latter ; but to faith it is tangi- 



2S8 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



ble. God therefore grant your grace to be joyful and to receive 
this rich exchange and immeasurable usury, having now in- 
stead of a tender loving wife, the tender loving will of God, 
yea, God himself, in addition. O, how happy and rich would 
we be if we could engage in su^h exchanges with God. Yea, 
we could engage in them if we only understood it. For God 
meets us daily with them, but we cannot greet Him." As to 
the soul-masses and vigils, however, he exhorts him to desist 
from them because of their being unchristian. 

Neither did Luther omit, by means of letters, to encourage 
and to confirm those whom he considered well-disposed towards 
the Gospel, or who bad already made a good beginning. Thus, 
under date of the 28th March, 1523. he wrote to the gentlemen 
of the German order, a communication, which appeared in 
print under the title : " To the gentUmen of the German order, 
to avoid false chastity, and to turn to proper conjugal chastity.'' 1 
To Count Albrscht. of Mansfeld, he gave Christian instruction 
for a good friend of his who was well-disposed towards the 
Go-pel. and also permitted the preaching of it in its purity, 
bur wished refrain from having the sacrament administered 
in bo h kinds, and from observing mass according to the insti- 
tution of Christ, as long as the authorities would not suffer it. 
To " the elect and dear friends of God,'' at Riga, Reval and 
Dorpat in Livonia, he (in August, 1523,) issued a writing in 
which he calls them happy, that dwelling like the heathens, 
(Acts xiii. 4S.) at ihe end of the world, they received the 
wholesome Word with the greatest delight, " which/' says he, 
'•our Jews in this Jerusalem, yea, Babylon, not only despise, 
but also dislike to have others hear." He exhorts them not to 
receive the grace of God in vain, holds up to them the sum of 
all doctrine, faith in Christ and love to our neighbour, and 
assures them beforehand, that wolves and seducers would also 
come among them, and that if they firmly adhered to the true 
doctrine, the cross and persecution would not be wanting. So 
he likewise, (on the 24th August. 1523) wrote to those at 
Worms to extend the hand to one another and to exhort one 
ano'her, that they might not suffer themselves to become 
weary of the Gospel, and to long after new doctrines and 
ques'ion-;. That they would have to cling to the Gospel of 
grace with especial firmness, as they were dwelling, like Eze- 
kiel, amidst scorpions, and like the bride in the Canticles, as a 
rose amidst thorns. That they should by no means be sur- 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



289 



prised if we had to suffer the same things on account of God's 
Word, which the prophets and the apostles, yea, Christ himself 
had to suffer. Finally, we mention the writing (of the 7th 
September, 1523,) to the Duke of Savoy, whom Luther con- 
gratulates for being, as he had heard, a great friend of true 
religion and godliness, which truly was a rare gift and exalted 
treasure among princes. He therefore gives him an account of 
his doctrines, explaining several of the chief points, and ex- 
pressing the wish that the duke would, as he had begun, aid 
in the extension of these doctrines, not by means of the sword, 
which could not advance the Gospel, but by affording security 
to it in his territory, and calling teachers who preach it in its 
purity. He concludes : " Therefore, most serene prince, most 
gracious lord, may your princely grace continue thus and be of 
good courage, also arouse the spark of fire which has begun to 
burn in your princely grace, and cause a fire to proceed from 
the house of Savoy as from the house of Joseph ; and may all 
France be to it as stubbles, and this holy fire of Christ also 
burn and flame in it, that France may again, in truth, because 
of the Gospel, be called the Christian kingdom, as it has thus 
far, quite improperly, been called the Christian kingdom, on ac- 
count of its unchristian services which it has rendered to Anti- 
christ, with its bloodshed. But may the Lord Jesus Christ 
pour out into the heart of your princely grace and the hearts 
of your friends His holy Spirit, that you may all do that which 
tends to promote the doctrines of His holy Word. Amen." 

The monks who forsook the cloisters, caused him much loss 
of time and much expense, and he very much disapproved of 
their issuing forth in such large numbers, and especially of 
their immediately marrying, since this class of men were 
usually incapable of discharging the duties of domestic life. 
On the 7th April there arrived at Wittenberg nine nuns, who 
had, at Luther's instance, been carried away from the cloister 
of Nimptzsch, by two respectable citizens of Torgau, Leonard 
Koppe and Wolf Tomitzsch. But the names of the nuns were 
these, Magdalene Staupitz, Elizabeth Kanitz, the sisters 
Veronica, («/. Catharine) and Margaret Zeschau, Laneta von 
Golis, Ave Grossin, Catharine von Bora, and the sisters Ave 
and Margaret von Schonfeld. Luther himself made the matter 
known, and in a communication to Leonard Koppe, which was 
printed under the title : Reason and answer why nuns may 
piously leave the cloisters, mentioned the nuns by name, doing 

19 



290 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATIO!?* 



so firstly, " because," said he, " what we do we do in God, and 
do not dread to come to the light with it ; " secondly, for the 
sake of the honour of the unhappy young women and of their 
relatives, that they might not be reported to have been carried 
away by reckless knaves ; thirdly, to warn the lords of the 
nobility, and all pious, honest people, who might have children 
in the cloisters, to attend to the matter themselves and to take 
them out, seeing that the way had been honourably opened. 
He then, in this communication, gave account before God and 
all the world, that all Christians might perceive " how we have 
sought, not our own interest, but first of all the honour of God 
and the good of our neighbour." But Luther now also took 
steps to provide for the refugees who had escaped in so re- 
markable a manner : in the first place he wished to inform 
their relatives to discover if they would receive them; if they 
would not, he intended to make other arrangements for them, 
promises having already been extended to him from several 
quarters with regard to the matter ; he also intended, if possi- 
ble, that several of them should enter the state of matrimony. 
Meanwhile it became necessary to provide for them for a week 
or two, and for this purpose he besought his friend Spalatin to 
beg some money for him of his rich courtiers ; he also applied 
to the elector to contribute something. " Be assured I shall 
keep it very secret," added he, " that he has himself given me 
something for the apostate nuns." On this occasion Luther 
complained of his Capernaitans. (as he called the Witten- 
bergers,) that they had become so satiated with the daily and 
important supply of God's Word, that he had himself, a short 
time previous, not been able to obtain the loan of ten florins in 
his own name for a poor citizen. That his own salary was 
only nine marks annually ; that aside from this, he and his 
brethren did not receive one farthing from the town. Not- 
withstanding this, he could say that he had never begged of his 
lord of Saxony one penny for himself. He so much the oftener, 
however, entreated the court for others : at one time he re- 
quested the grant of salary to Dr. Pommer, (Bugenhagen,) who 
was under the necessity of taking fees for his lectures ; at 
another, wild-game for a banquet in honour of some newly- 
created doctor, or for the nuptials of a colleague : now he 
interceded for a poor man who would like to have become 
bridge-overseer at Wittenberg, or for a poor fisherman who 
had trespassed upon the rights of his gracious lord, and had 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 291 

been fined too severely ; now for an office for one of the 
nobility who had lost the court's favour, or for travelling 
money for some poor litteratus, &c. He, indeed, sometimes 
feared that his petitions might prove annoying to the prince, 
and he intended to refrain from presenting any more, as he did 
not wish to compel any one to do good, and because, besides, 
he did not well like to have dealings with the court ; but still 
he could not prevail over himself, although he had to complain 
that he was so overburdened with a multitude of outward and 
little affairs, that he nearly sunk under the weight of them. 
One of his petitions to the elector (probably of the year 1522,) 
reads thus : 

" Grace and peace in Christ, Amen ; and my most humble 
service, most serene, highborn prince, most gracious lord. It 
is only with reluctance that I trouble your electoral grace 
with petitions for other people ; the pleasure which this affords 
me I would also willingly forego. Necessity compels, and 
love urges me to this task. I previous!}' wrote to your electo- 
ral grace from my solitude concerning Christopher N., whose 
wants urged him to request this of me, and now he has come 
to me again, and beseeches me so earnestly, that I am over- 
come, and his wretchedness excites my heartfelt commisera- 
tion, so that it has, as it were, excited a thirst in me to write 
to your electoral grace, for I had not supposed his wants 
to be so great. I shall not go to law with your electoral grace 
on his account, it may be that he has deserved this and even 
worse - I well know the sincere wish of your electoral grace 
to wrong no one. But I also know that there is no prince so 
pious or prudent, as that no one should ever be unjustly dealt 
with by himself or his officers. David was the worthiest of 
princes upon earth, and he did, at the information of Ziba, do 
wrong to the unhappy Mephibosheth, thinking, nevertheless, 
that he had not done wrong. (2 Sam. xvi.) A prince must 
remember that his government is tinctured with unrighteous- 
ness; well for him who has least of it : wherefore it is also 
necessary to show so much the more mercy and kindness, that 
mercy may rejoice against judgment, as St. James says, (ch. ii. 
13). Therefore I cast myself at the feet of your electoral 
grace, and submissively pray your electoral grace to show 
mercy to the poor man, and to support him in his old age for 
the remainder of his life. It will never do to permit him thus 
to perish and to seek alms ; for I perceive that his poverty so 



292 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



greatly distresses him, that he might, perhaps, ultimately be- 
come deranged. And your princely grace can easily relieve 
him by affording him board, food and drink, or by making some 
other arrangements for him. God has more Schneebergs, 5 so 
that there need be no apprehension of the dominions of your 
electoral grace becoming poor in consequence of too great liber- 
ality ; nor have they become poor, thus far, in consequence. 
Quia verum est, date et dabitur vobis, (because it is true — give 
and it shall be given you) ; where date (give) is in abundance, 
there dabitur (is given) will be in yet greater abundance. And 
let your electoral grace be assured, that I shall not suffer the 
man to depart thus unprovided for, I will sooner myself go a 
begging for him, and if I do not succeed in this way, even rob 
and steal, most of all from the elector of Saxony, whatever I 
find most convenient ; for I trust I should even escape being 
rewarded with the gibbet by your electoral grace, though I 
should, in such distress, rob every saint of a treasure. 6 J hum- 
bly pray your electoral grace, graciously to receive this my 
anxious or foolish communication. My heart is with God as 
far as 1 can feel. May the almighty God preserve your electo- 
ral grace in health and happiness, according to his mercy. 
Amen." 

Authorities.— Works, vol. 18, p. 319, 324, 327, (T. Sleidani 
comm. de statu relig. etc., Lib IV.,) 330, 335, 474, 476, 370. Seck- 
end. Lib. I., Sect. 56, par. cxlvii. Let. No. 463, 497, 540, 576, 504, 
512. Works, vol. 18, p. 481. Let. No. 660, 3 vol., No. 764. (Works, 
vol. 19, p. 324,) 2 vol., No. 559. Seckend. p. 278, sq. Let. No. 580, 
527. Works, vol. 18, p. 405. Let. No. 501, 516, 524, 528, 505, 
508, 484-486, 490. Table Talk, p. 71. Let. No. 458, 388, 406, 
518, 520, 382, 495, 378. 

Notes. — 1.) Queen Elizabeth, of Denmark, who was at Nuremberg 
at that time, had received a number of Luther's books from Duke Al- 
brecht, of Prussia, and when her brother gave utterance to this expres- 
sion, it had become known that she adhered to Luther's doctrines. She 
suffered no inducement to draw her aside, and died firmly believing. 

2.) A third person, Lambert Thorn, is said to have been burnt three 
days afterwards; there is extant, however, a consolatory letter of Lu- 
ther's to him, of the 19th January, 1524, (Let. No. 576,) in which 
he is regarded as a prisoner. This contradiction has not yet been 
solved. 

3 ) Magister Henry Miiller, of Ziitphen, formerly prior of the Augus- 
tine order at Antwerp, was exiled thence on account of the Gospel, 
arrived at Bremen in 1522, with the intention of proceeding to Witten- 
berg : there he was detained, and he preached for two years with much 
success. Being persecuted by the prebendaries and other ecclesiastics, 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 298 

he obeyed a call to Meldorf, in the district of Ditmarschen : here it was 
that he was taken captive to gratify the bishop of Bremen, and where 
he suffered the death of a martyr at the hands of drunken peasants, on 
the 11th December, 1524. 

4. ) Evidently an allusion to Erasmus, whose controversy with Luther 
began at that time. 

5. ) The silver mines at Schneeberg were just then most productive. 

6. ) Luther frequently in a half jesting tone refers to the relics, which 
the elector, with so much trouble and expense, had collected for the 
church of All Saints, at Wittenberg. See above, p. 235. 

CHAPTER V. 

FRESH STORMS. 1524 AND 1525. 

Pope Adrian VI. bad departed this life on the 14th September, 
1573, and Clemens VII., of the house of Medices, who had suc- 
ceeded him, had despatched Cardinal Laurentius Campeggius 
to the Diet at Nuremberg, which had again been resumed in 
November, and had also, by him, transmitted a very friendly 
letter to the elector of Saxony. The legate insisted that before 
anything else could be determined, it was necessary to con- 
sider how the Edict of Worms might be executed ; the (absent) 
emperor also, through his ambassador, complained of it, that 
the Edict of Worms had not been observed, and commanded 
that its requisitions should be better observed in future ; but 
the princes replied that they would do what they could. In 
the concluding address of the Diet, of the 18th April, 1524, it 
was said that the pope would, as soon as possible, in accord- 
ance with the wish of the emperor, appoint a free council to 
be held at some suitable place in Germany, but that the 
estates should, on the 11th November, again assemble at 
Speier, and take into consideration what ought, meanwhile, 
to be done. To simplify the transactions, if a council should 
be summoned, the princes were to cause learned and upright 
men to put together, from the writings of Luther and others, 
what was to be discussed, and to bring this with them to the 
next assembly. After the final adjournment of the Diet, arch- 
duke Ferdinand and a number of other estates, chiefly bishops, 
betook themselves to Ratisbonne? where they, in a special con- 
ference, agreed among themselves rigidly to carry out the 
Edict of Worms in all their dominions, and if any one should 
meet with difficulties, to render active assistance to one 



294 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



another. The emperor, however, in a rescript from Spain of 
the 15th July, severely rebuked the estates because of the 
Nuremberg decrees, and commanded that all should, forth- 
with, as much as at all possible, conform to the Edict of 
Worms, threatening the severest proscription of the realm in 
case of disobedience. Of Luther, the rescript says : " That in- 
human and unchristian Luther endeavours, by means of his 
pernicious and fiendish poison, to bring destruction upon the 
bodies and the souls of all, and through his craft and wicked- 
ness to attain to greatness and respectability before men, like 
Mahomet." 

During the progress of the Diet, Luther wrote that he was 
not much concerned about the Diet, but was much rejoiced, 
on the other hand, at the progress of the Gospel in Livonia and 
Prussia, where at least one bishop, namely, of Samland, had, 
at length, confessed Christ. From this the foolish princes and 
bishops might truly learn that it was not Luther, that insignifi- 
cant man, but Christ, the Almighty, who was accomplishing 
this. The Nuremberg Edict of the 18th April, 1524, he pub- 
lished in connection with the Edict of Worms, under the title : 
" Two imperial, discordant, and contradictory Edicts concerning 
Luther." 

In the preface he says, that he had published these Edicts 
out of sympathy for the poor Germans, if God, perhaps, through 
them, would make several princes and others, sensible of the 
blindness and obduracy of the course they were pursuing. " It 
is disgraceful," continues he, " that the emperor and princes 
publicly deal in falsehood ; but it is more disgraceful, that they 
at one and the same time publish edicts in direct opposition to 
each other, as you here perceive, that it is commanded, to deal 
with me according to the proscription issued from Worms, and 
rigidly to enforce this command, and still also to receive the 
opposite edict, according to which, it is first to be ascertained 
at the future Diet of Speier, what there is good or evil in my 
doctrine. Here I am at one and the same time condemned 
and reserved for future judgment, and the Germans are at the 
same time to consider me condemned and to persecute me, and 
also to wait and to see how I may be condemned. Surely, 
these must be intoxicated and mad princes. — Well, then, we 
Germans must be Germans, and be the asses and martyrs of 
the pope, and although we were pounded like pealed grain in 
a mortar, (as Solomon says,) yet will folly not forsake us. 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



295 



Nothing will avail, no complaint, no teaching, praying and en- 
treaty, not even personal and daily experience, to show us how 
we have been flayed and devoured. Well, my dear princes and 
lords, you are hastening to death with me, single, insignificant 
man, and when this is accomplished, you will have won the 
game. But if you had ears to hear, I would tell you some- 
thing strange. What, if Luther's life were of so much moment 
with God, that, if he did not live, none of you would be secure 
of life or dominion, and his death would be the destruction of 
you all ? There is no trifling with God. Only proceed, slay 
and burn ; I shall not yield, I trust, by the help of God. Here 
I am, and pray you beseechingly, that you will not, when you 
shall have killed me, again raise me from the dead, and kill me 
again. I perceive that God has not given me dealings with 
rational men, but German beasts are to kill me, (if I am wor- 
thy of it,) just as if wolves or wild boars tore you in pieces. 
Yet, I advise every one, who believes that there is a God, to 
refrain from rendering obedience to this command. For, al- 
though God has given me the grace that I do not fear death, 
as I formerly did, and will enable me also willingly and joy- 
fully to die ; yet shall they not succeed, before my hour has 
come and my God calls me, and if they should rave and rage 
more than ever. For He that has, against their wishes, and 
contrary to all my expectation, preserved me alive for nearly 
three years, can surely still preserve me, albeit, 1 do not great- 
ly desire it." ..." But I pray you, my dear princes and lords, 
both gracious and ungracious, (1 wish you no evil, the Lord 
knows ; neither can you do me any injury, of that I am cer- 
tain). I pray you, I say, for God's sake, to have God before 
your eyes, and to proceed differently about this matter. There 
is, most assuredly, some calamity in store for you, and God's 
wrath is kindling, which you will not escape if you coutinue 
thus. What will you do, my dear lords ? God is too wise for 
you, and it is but a small matter for him to turn you into fools ; 
He is also too powerful, and can easily destroy you. Do you, 
then, fear his wisdom a little, whether, perhaps, he has not, 
from displeasure, put such thoughts into your hearts, to con- 
found you, as he is accustomed always to deal with great 
lords, causing the glorious song to resound throughout the world 
concerning him, Ps. 33. : God bringeth the counsel of the princes 
to naught. And Exod. 9, to King Pharaoh : For this cause 
have 1 raised thee up, for to show in thee my power ; and that 



296 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



my name may be declared throughout all the earth. One item 
of his praise is : deposuit potente3 de sede. (He hurls the 
mighty from their thrones.) That is meant for you, dear lords, 
even now, if you make a misstep." 

Bishop Benno, of Meissen, (who died in the year 1106,) hav- 
ing been canonized by Pope Adrian VI., in a bull of the 31st 
May, 1523, Luther took occasion, in the year 1524, to publish 
the writing : " Against the new idol and the old devil, that is to 
be exalted at Meissen." He here premises, that he did not wish 
to be considered as in any way passing sentence upon the de- 
ceased bishop Benno, because he had his judge, like all the 
other departed souls ; but that he was writ ing against the liv- 
ing satan, who, not knowing how else to revenge himself at 
4his time, in which the Gospel, by the grace of God, had again 
arisen and was shining brightly, was amusing men with such 
artifices, to the mockery of God and the dishonour of his Word. 
"And I do this," continues he, " the more readily and joyfully, 
since I know and am fully assured, that if Benno is truly holy, 
he will not regard it a favour to be canonized ; as no true saint 
was ever delighted at having been canonized by the pope. And, 
indeed, there are but few of such, for they are generally only 
papistical saints, not Christian saints. This is evident from 
the fact, that, through the canonizing of the saints, the confi- 
dence of men in the grace of God and in Christ, is destroyed, 
and they depend upon the merits and intercession of the saints, 
and so much good is done to their church, that the good works 
of love towards men are wholly neglected, and thus the saints 
take the place of God, and wood and stone, the place of our 
neighbour ; whilst only indolent gluttons and idle, fattened 
swine are pastured in the churches, endowed institutions, and 
cloisters. But true saints delight in nothing more than in see- 
ing faith, pure and unadulterated, and fervent and constant 
love among men." Further he says, that it most admirably 
became pope Adrian to exalt this satan at Meissen, since he 
had caused those true saints, John and Henry, to be burnt at 
Brussels. That this was the proper office of the popes: to 
destroy true saints, and to fabricate false ones : to condemn 
God's Word and to confirm their own doctrines, and afterwards 
to say, that it was done for the honour of God and his dear 
saints. He then reviews the grounds which the bull adduces 
for the canonization, the first in order of which is, that Benno 
had sided with pope Gregrory VII. against the emperor Henry 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



297 



IV., though the pope had acted as a traitor and a knave to- 
wards the emperor, upon which he concludes : That the good 
Benno should be permitted to sleep on in the judgment of God, 
who alone knew what was true or false with regard to him, 
for that the marks adduced did not prove anything, and that 
his doctrine, faith, k>ve, and tribulation, nowhere appeared. 
That the proper canonization of the saints was the one of 
which the Scriptures speak : Distribute to the necessities of the 
saints ; for that they said little or nothing of the saints in hea- 
ven, but only of those upon earth. That all splendour, expense, 
and trouble, which were now directed to the honour of Benno, 
were not as good and acceptable to God, as when a poor Chris- 
tian was clothed or supplied with food, yea, that it was all 
displeasing to God, because he had not enjoined it. Finally, 
he explains those passages, which were adduced to justify 
such juggling, and to cast dust into the eyes of the people. 

Against the papal theologian, John Cochleus, who had, at 
Worms, made Luther the offer to dispute with him, provided 
he would previously decline the imperial safeconduct, and who 
afterwards had published a writing against Luther, the latter 
had, in the year 1523. at the instance of William Nessenus, 
written the essay : Adoersus Armatum virum Cochleum, which 
also appeared in German, under the title : Against the armed 
man Cochleus, or an Answer concerning Faith and Works. 
Afterwards he did not feel disposed to reply to any further 
writings of Cochleus, because of having more important things 
to attend to, and he remarked, that very many of such books 
were daily perishing, without any effort on our part towards it. 

To another opponent, however, he deemed it necessary to 
reply, not on account of him, individually, but on account of 
those who employed the influence of this man, with it to adorn 
their opposition to Christ. This was Erasmus. What Luther 
thought of him, he stated in a letter, (of the 20th June, 1523,) 
to John CEcolampadius: "Although I here and there perceive 
his pointed words, yet, as he pretends not to be a secret foe, I 
again, in return, act as if I did not perceive his craftiness, al- 
though I see through his conduct much better than he ima- 
gines. He has accomplished that for which he was called: 
he has introduced the languages, and drawn away the atten- 
tion from those wretched studies. Perhaps he will also, with 
Moses, die in the plains of Moab ; for to better studies, which 
are profitable for godliness, he will scarcely attain. I wish 



298 THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 

very much, that he would desist from the explanation of the 
Holy Scriptures, and from his paraphrases, for he is not the 
man for such a work, and he only prevents his readers from 
rightly understanding the Scriptures. He has done enough in 
exposing what is evil ; but also to reveal that which is good, 
and to conduct into the promised land, this, I perceive, he does 
not understand." And in another place: "I shall not give 
Erasmus cause to enter the lists against me; and though he 
should assail me once or twice, I shall, out of respect for him 
pass it by. Yet it would not, in my estimation, be advisable 
for him to try the power of his eloquence against me. But if 
he does mingle in the game, he shall, by the grace of God, 
learn that Christ fears neither the gates of hell, nor the mighty 
ones that rule in the darkness of the world, and I, stammering 
mortal, by the help of God, shall joyfully meet the most elo- 
quent Erasmus, not dreading either his great influence, name, 
or favour." Many, namely, had sought to prevail upon Eras- 
mus to write against Luther, and pope Adrian himself had 
written a very flattering letter to him on this subject, to which 
he, however, replied with various excuses. Luther was anx- 
ious to continue at peace with him, and for this purpose wrote 
to him, (in the year 1524) : " I have not taken it in very bad 
part, that thou, in order to preserve a good understanding with 
the papists, hast, in some parts of thy books, dealt rather 
harshly with me, since I well perceive, that thou hast not re- 
ceived from God the courage and the disposition, freely and 
confidently, with me, to meet the monsters with whom I have 
to deal; and I do not wish to demand of thee, what transcends 
the measure of the power given thee of God ; yea, I bear with 
and respect thy weakness, and the measure of the gift granted 
thee of God." In conclusion he says : " This, dearest Erasmus, 
I wish thee to consider, as having been said in evidence of my 
upright intention towards thee, and 1 wish, that God would 
give thee a spirit worthy of thy name: but if God should delay 
giving this to thee, I pray thee, meanwhile, that thou wouldest, 
if thou canst not do anything else, merely sit as spectator at 
our tragedy, and not suffer thy troops to pass over to those of 
the enemy, especially not to publish any books against me, as 
I shall not publish anything against thee." Erasmus replied 
to this, (under date of the 5th May) : That, alihough he might 
have gained great favour with the princes by it, he had yet so 
far not written anything against Luther, because he had seen 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION* 2S9 

that this could not have been done without injury to the Gos- 
pel ; that he had merely warded off the charge of being in 
league with Luther. That what Luther wrote against him, 
could not disturb him, yea, in a worldly point of view, there 
could be nothing more advantageous to him. That he was 
aesirous of delivering his soul to Christ free of guilt, and wish- 
ed that all might be so disposed. ''If thou art prepared," con- 
tinues he, " to give an answer to all, concerning the faith that 
is in thee, why art thou dissatisfied, when any one, for the sake 
of information, disputes with thee ? Perhaps Erasmus, if he 
wrote against thee, would better promote the interest of the 
Gospel, than some foolish people who write for thee, on whose 
account it will not do to remain a spectator of this tragedy. 
If it does not really, after all, take a tragical end ! " In the 
same year Erasmus published, against Luther, his treatise i 
Delibero arbitrio, (concerning free will). It was especially 
through the king of England that he had been induced to this 
step ; he himself acknowledged, however, that in writing this 
treatise, he had not moved in his proper sphere ; and in an- 
other place : That in writing the treatise concerning free will, 
he had lost his own free will. 

Luther did not reply till the close of the year 1525, when he 
wrote the treatise : De servo arbitrio, it being at the same time 
published in the German translation of Justus Jonas, under the 
title : " That free will is nothing" concerning which delay he 
explains himself in the introduction. He observes here that 
he highly esteemed Erasmus, calls him a great and dear man, 
and praises his distinguished talents ; he unreservedly, how- 
ever, tells hftn, that he had been displeased at that ambiguous 
book, in which Erasmus rocked to and fro so much that it was 
impossible to get any firm hold on him, that he, upon the 
whole, in all his writings was more slippery than an eel, wish- 
ing to walk on eggs and yet not to break them, to assert and 
yet not to assert, to conclude and yet not to conclude. That it 
was very difficult to deal with such men in matters so impor- 
tant and spiritual, which concern the conscience and the soul. 
Indeed, he plainly says: "Thou adducest grounds and argu- 
ments so wretched that I have scarcely, in all my life, met 
with a more wretched weak and feeble book concerning free 
will, and have only to except the elegant and flowery lan- 
guage, which does little good here." 

But much more than at the assault of Erasmus, was Luther 



300 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



grieved at the disorderly proceedings of Karlstadt and the 
fanatics, the error of the Sacramentarians, and the disturbances 
caused by Mtinzer; although he comforted himself with the 
thought that that part of the cross also was to be borne, that 
he who eats the bread of Christ, tramples Him under his feet, 
and that his Word in this way proved itself to be God's Word, 
by passing through the ordeal, not only of power, but also of 
heresy. 

Karlstadt had betaken himself to Orlamiinde, 1 and there had, 
after the removal of the regular vicar, suffered himself to be 
made their pastor by the citizens, who adhered to him ; he now 
proceeded to cast the images out of the church, spread his 
doctrine concerning the Lord's supper, lived on intimate terms 
with the new prophets who had come into those parts from 
Zwickau, and was suspected, in particular, of making common 
cause wilh Thomas Murizer, who was at Allstadt at that time. 
He also had established a printing-press at Jena, from which 
he issued his books. Having in vain been admonished by the 
university and the chapter of Wittenberg to return to the dis- 
charge of his duties, Luther, at the command of the elector* 
proceeded to Jena, where the adherents of Karlstadt and 
Miinzer were numerous. Luther arrived there on the 21st 
August, took up his lodging at the inn of the Black Bear, and 
on the following day, early at 7 o'clock, delivered a sermon 
against the fanatics and their fruits, insurrection, and the de- 
struction of images. Karlstadt, who had been present and 
heard this sermon, considered some portions of it as applying 
to himself, and wrote to Luther, desiring a conference with 
him. This took place at Luther's lodging, in the presence of 
many witnesses. 

Karlstadt complained that Luther had put him in the same 
catalogue with seditious ^nd murderous spirits, in that he had 
said, that the murderous spirit at Allstadt and the spirit which 
broke the images and laid hands upon the sacrament were one 
and the same spirit. That the spirit at Allstadt had nolhing 
in common with his doctrine on the sacrament ; that no one 
after the apostles had taught on this subject as he had done, 
adopting the same manner, views and arguments. Luther 
replied, that he had not made ihe least mention of any one, 
especially not of him, but that, if he considered it as applying 
to himself he might apply it to himself in the name of God. 
After they, had sharply conferred with one another, Luther 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



301 



said : You are, after all, on the side of the new prophets. 
Karlstadt : As far as they have right and truth on their side ; 
as far as they are in the wrong let the devil side with them. 
Luther : Write against me openly and not clandestinely. 
Karlstad t : If I were assured that you are so anxious for it, you 
might have your wish. Luther: Only do so. Karlstadt : It 
shall be done. Luther: Do so, I will present you a florin for 
the purpose. Karlstadt: A florin? Luther: If I don't do so, 
call me a knave. Karlstadt: Give it to me then, and I shall 
verily accept it. Luther accordingly put his hand into his 
pocket and drawing forth a gold florin, he gave it to Karlstadt 
and said: Take it, and only boldly assail me, don't spare. 
Karlstadt took the florin and holding it up to all present, said : 
Dear brethren, that is Arrabo. a token that I am authorized to 
write against Doctor Luther, and I pray } r ou all to be witnesses 
of it for me. Luther : There is no need of it. And Karlstadt 
bent it and put it in his purse, reached his hand to Dr. Luther, 
and Dr. Luther toasted him, and Karlstadt, returning the com- 
pliment, said : Doctor, I pray you therefore not to prevent me 
from printing, neiiher to cause me any persecution or hinder- 
ance as to my livelihood, for I intend to maintain myself with 
the plough, and whatever the plough shall yield, you, no doubt, 
will learn. Luther : How should I wish to prevent you when 
I desire you to write against me ? and I give you the florin as 
an evidence that you are not to spare me. And the more 
boldly you attack me the better I shall be pleased with you. 
The court-preacher, (Wolfgang Stein, who had accompanied 
Luther on his journey,) also said to Karlstadt: The Doctor 
shall not prevent you from gaining your livelihood, nor do you 
any injury. Upon which Karlstadt said: Well then, if 1 miss 
you, it shall be my damage. Thus Karlstadt returned home, 
and Martin having preached, afterwards drove to Kahla. 

In Kahla he was to deliver a sermon. But on his ascending 
the pulpit, he found a broken crucifix lying scattered about in 
it; this at first gj-ieved him, but he arose, pushed the pieces 
aside, and delivered an instructive sermon and faithful warn- 
ing, with all submission to preserve faith and a good con- 
science, and did not make the least mention of the nefarious 
deed. 

Upon this he proceeded to Neustadt, and thence to Orla- 
munde. The council of the congregation at Orlamiinde had 
written and despatched a letter to him to Jena, in which they 



B02 THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 

stated that they had heard, how he, from his pulpit, had im- 
prudently pronounced them to be heretics, erring and fanatical 
spirits, although he had never tried or inquired into their 
spirits. That they were prepared to render an account before 
him or any one else. Luther refused to preach at Orlamunde, 
but treated with them concerning the letter especially con- 
cerning the authority from the Scriptures, for the removal of 
images ; 2 but he accomplished nothing with them, and could 
rejoice, as he says, that he was not pelted with stones and 
mud, as some of them did salute him with a blessing in this 
wise: "Go, and depart in the name of a thousand devils, and 
may you perish before you leave the precincts of the town." 

Karlstadt having, by an order of the elector, been compelled 
to leave Orlamunde and its vicinity, wrote two letters to the 
congregation, one to the men, the other to the women, which 
were publicly read, and bore the signature : Andrew Boden- 
stein, exiled through Martin Luther, without having been 
heard or vanquished. Upon this he directed his course to 
Strasburg, and there endeavoured to gain adherents to his 
doctrine concerning the Lord's Supper, that bread and wine, 
namely, are not the body and blood of Christ ; he also issued a 
large number of books from Basle, in which he called Luther 
a two-fold papist, and friend of Anti-Christ. Luther, on re- 
ceiving information of this, first of all wrote a letter of admo- 
nition (on the 15th December, 1524,) to the Strasburgers, in 
which he thanks God for so richly bestowing upon them His 
grace, and exhorts them daily to increase in the knowledge and 
grace of Jesus Christ, to continue of one mind, and to evince 
their brotherly love by their actions, that faith might not be 
false, indolent or idle, and that the exiled foe might not again 
return, and finding the house empty and garnished, enter in 
with seven worse spirits, and thus the last case become worse 
than the first. That if they were calumniated or persecuted 
on this account, they were blessed. But that it was a danger- 
ous state of things when divisions, sects, and errors rose among 
Christians. That these, nevertheless, would follow too, that 
there would have to be heresies in order that the faithful might 
be revealed. That Christ must have not only Caiaphas among 
his enemies, but also Judas among his friends. That he wrote 
this because of the new prophets who were arising in several 
places, and because he had heard that Doctor Karlstadt was 
exciting disturbance among them, as well as elsewhere, with 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 303 

his fanaticism in regard to the sacrament, images, and bap- 
tism. That he was not their pastor, but was allowed to ad- 
monish them, and that they knew how he had taught all the 
principal points which a Christian must necessarily know, in 
their purity and with certainty; that Karlstadt, however, so 
impetuously insisted upon outward things, as if these consti- 
tuted the very essence of Christianity. "This I acknowledge," 
he then continues, "if Dr. Karlstadt or any other person, could 
have demonstrated to me five years ago, that there is nothing 
but bread and wine in the sacrament, he would have done me 
a great service. I had severe trials and conflicts to encounter 
on this subject, so that I would gladly have been delivered from 
them, because I well perceived, that in this way I would have 
been able, most sucessfully, to assault the papacy. There 
were two, also, who wrote to me concerning the subject, with 
more ability than Dr. Karlstadt, and who did not thus torture 
the words to suit their own fancy. But'I am captive and can- 
not escape : the text is too mighty on this point, and will not 
suffer itself to be erased from the mind by means of words. 
Yea, if any one could this day demonstrate to a certainty, that 
there is nothing present here but mere bread and wine, it 
should not be necessary to assail me with such rage. I am 
only too much inclined that way, as far as I perceive from my 
natural man. But the dreamings of Dr. Karlstadt on this sub- 
ject disturb me so little, that I am only the more confirmed in 
my views through them.". 

Against Karlstadt, Luther, in January and February, 1525, 
wrote the treatise: "Against the Heavenly Prophets" in two 
parts. After the introductory remarks, he speaks first of 
iconoclasm, and says, that the images must first, by means of 
the Word, be torn from the heart, before the hand is laid on 
them ; afterwards they might also be outwardly abolished, 
though in an orderly way, without fanaticism and violence ; 
whereupon he further treats of prohibited or idolatrous images. 
He also replies : "To the complaint of Dr. Karlstadt in reference 
to his having been exiled from the country of Saxony" that this 
had been done because he had attempted to invest the rabble 
with the regular power of the government, and was making 
common cause with the heavenly prophets, who pretended that 
they had conversed with God and God with them, and that 
they were called to preach, and who moreover endeavoured to 
reform Christendom by putting all princes and wicked men to 



304 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



death, that then they might be lords upon the earth and live 
among mere saints. That Karlstadt was aware of their mur- 
derous spirit and yet did not avoid them. But that all was to 
be ascribed to his having forsaken his regular vocation, and 
intruded himself uncalled into Orlamunde. He then speaks of 
the mass, because Karlstadt had reproached the Wittenbergers 
for employing this term in reference to the sacrament and for 
elevating the latter. 

In the second part, in which he treats of the sacrament in par- 
ticular, he firstly exposes the artifice of Satan, in that, through 
the false prophets he assailed the Gospel, which he hated. 
That God, through His Gospel, dealt wiih us in two ways, the 
one outward, the other inward: outwardly, through the oral 
word of the Gospel, and through the bodily signs, baplism and 
the sacrament ; inwardly, through the Holy Ghost and faith, 
and other gifts ; but in such a way that the outward things 
must precede, and the inward follow through the outward, and 
that God gave the inward things to no one except through the 
outward. That the sectarian spirits reversed this order. That 
what God outwardly connected wish the Spirit inwardly, they 
scornfully and mockingly discarded, wishing first to be in the 
spirit, and saying: Yea, should a handful of water cleanse me 
from sin? The Spirit, the Spirit, the Spirit, must accomplish 
it internally. Should bread and wine help me? Should the 
breathing over the bread bring Christ into the sacrament? Xo. 
no, the flesh of Christ must be eaten spiritually. That if they 
were asked, however, how we obtain this same high spirit, 
they would direct us, not to the outward Gospel, but to the 
elysian fields, and say : "Patiently continue in meditation as I 
have continued, 3 and you will experience it; then will come 
the heavenly voice, and God himself will hold converse with 
thee." That, on the other hand, with regard to what God did 
not outwardly ordain, they proceeded like madmen and estab- 
lished outw ard order without any command of God, and in- 
vented various things in regard to humility and demeanour; 
and that, what God ordained inwardly as faith, they did not 
allow, but applied all the Scripture passages which insisted 
upon inward faith, to some outward new mode, to modify the 
old man; and thus they invented terms like refining, studying, 
admiration, meditation, and other such nonsense, of which not 
an iota was contained in the Scriptures. To this he adds the 
admonition: "Therefore do thou, my brother, cling firmly to 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



305 



the order of God, considering the mortification of the old man, 
in which we follow the example of Christ, as Peter says, not 
to be the first thing, as this devil teaches, but the last, holding, 
that no one can mortify his flesh, bear the cross, and follow the 
example of Christ, unless he first become a Christian, and 
through faith receive Christ in his heart as an eternal treasure. 
But Him we do not obtain by works, as these prophets madly 
teach, but by the hearing of the Gospel, the order being this : 
Firstly, before all works and all other things, God's Word is 
heard, in which the Spirit rebukes the world on account of sin, 
John xvi. Then, when a knowledge of sin is obtained, the 
grace of Christ is made known. In this Word the Spirit 
appears and gives faith to whomsoever he will. Then follow 
mortification, the cross, and works of love. Whoever proposes 
to thee a different order, be assured that it is the spirit of the 
devil, as this Karlstadtian spirit is." 

He then reviews the arguments with which Karlstadt en- 
deavours to prove that the body and the blood of Christ are not 
in the sacrament, and shows, firstly, how he rends and tortures 
God's Word, and then what is to be thought of the arguments 
which dame Grace, that is, Karlstad t's sage reason advances 
against the sacrament. He finally concludes with the words: 
"Lastly, 1 herewith faithfully and fraternally warn every one 
to be on his guard against Dr. Karlstadt and his prophets, and 
this for two especial reasons: the first is, that they roam about 
and teach without being called, which God rebukes through 
Jeremiah, and says : They ran and I did not send them, they 
spoke and I did not command them. Therefore Christ also, 
John x., declares them to be thieves and murderers, who do 
not enter in at the door, but climb in some other way. They 
boast of having a high measure of the Spirit, even higher than 
the apostles, although they have, now, for more than three 
years, clandestinely sneaked about and cast around their filth. 
If it had been the right spirit, he would have come forth boldly 
and have proved his vocation with signs and words ; but it is 
an insidious, clandestine devil, that sneaks about in corners 
till he can do injury and spread abroad his poison. The other 
reason is, that these prophets avoid, flee, and suppress the 
principal part of Christian doctrine ; for they nowhere teach 
how we may be delivered from sin, obtain a good conscience, 
and a peaceful, joyous heart towards God, upon which every- 
thing depends. This is the true sign that their spirit is of the 

20 



306 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION". 



devil, who, with strange and new words, does indeed excite, 
terrify, and confuse the consciences of men, but does not afford 
them rest or peace, nor can it do so ; but rashly teaches a 
number of strange works, with which they are to exercise and 
torment themselves. But as to what constitutes a good con- 
science, with regard to this they know nothing whatever ; for 
they have never either felt or known it, and how indeed should 
they know or feel it, when they, uncalled, come of themselves 
and teach ; such a course certainly cannot be productive of 
good. The grace of God be with us all. Amen." 

Karlstadt having afterwards desired to have a conference 
with Luther, the latter prayed the elector to extend to him a 
safe-conduct. The elector refused this, and Luther was satis- 
fied that he did so. In September. 1525, however, on Karl- 
stadt's offering to submit to an investigation in order to clear 
himself from the charge of insurrection, and also transmitting 
a revocation of his error, Luther prayed the elector John, to 
permit Karlstadt, if he should have justified himself, to abide 
at Kemberg or some village in the vicinity, since he had at 
any rate, firmly resolved, never in his life to preach any more, 
nor to write, but forever to keep silence, and to gain his live- 
lihood by his labour. '* This I write," added he, " because I 
deeply commiserate with the poor man, and your electoral 
grace knows that we are to exercise mercy towards those in 
distress, especially towards the innocent." He likewise pub- 
lished two treatises, one being : " Karlstad? s little book in which 
he answers the charge of insurrection brought against him" the 
other : " In reference to Karlstadt, besides Karlstadt' s declaration, 
how he understands his doctrine concerning the highly revered 
sacrament, and other points, and wishes to have it understood." 

In reference to Miinzer, Luther had, on his journey to Jena, 
written from Weimar to the council and congregation of Mul- 
hausen, he having heard of Miinzer's intention to betake him- 
self thither, and had warned them against this false spirit and 
prophet, who went about in sheeps' clothing, whilst he was in- 
wardly a ravenous wolf. That he had already, at many 
places, especially at Zwickau, and now at Allstadt, shown by 
his fruits what kind of a tree he was. That they should cite 
him and demand of him, who had sent him to preach to them, 
and if he should say that God and his Spirit had sent him, as 
the apostles, they should require him to substantiate this by 
signs and miracles, or forbid him to preach. He, at the same 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 307 

time, also wrote to the Elector Frederick, and to Duke John, 
of Saxony, praying them, in the first place, by no means to let 
present occurrences disturb them, that there would have to be 
sects, in order that those who are faithful might be revealed, 
and then expresses his joy, " that our people are not the authors 
of this confusion, and they themselves do not wish to be con- 
sidered of our number, or as having learned or received any- 
thing from us, for they come from heaven and hear God him- 
self speak with them, as with the angels ; and it is an unimpor- 
tant matter that we at Wittenberg teach faith, love, and the 
cross of Christ. Thou must hear the voice of God," say they, 
" and suffer God's Word in thee, and feel the weight of thy 
talent ; with the Scriptures thou canst accomplish nothing ; 
yes, Bible, Babel, Babel, &c." He then exhorts the princes to 
have regard to the matter, and to arrest such disorderly peo- 
ple, by virtue of the power committed to them, and thus to 
prevent insurrection ; and warns them not to listen to their 
fine speeches, when they say that the spirit constrains them, 
since that was a wretched spirit, which could give no other 
evidence of its fruits than the destruction of churches and 
cloisters, and the burning of relics. 

To this communication, Munzer opposed his treatise : " High- 
ly-called-for defence and answer against the spiritless, meek, 
living flesh at Wittenberg," &c. ; in which he calls Luther the 
chaste Babylonian woman, virgin Martin, arch-heathen, arch- 
knave, Doctor Ludibrii and Doctor Liar, the Wittenberg pope, 
the tricky raven, dragon, lion, basilisk, &c. ; and reproaches 
him, saying, that, whilst he enjoyed his good malmsey, and 
other carnal pleasures, and deceitfully and knavishly flattered 
the princes, he denounced only poor monks, priests, and mer- 
chants, no one being permitted to condemn and to rebuke the 
ungodly rulers, although they trampled Christ under their feet, 
and would not in the least desist from their flaying and their 
taxations. 

When, in the following year, (1525,) the insurrection of the 
peasantry broke out, and extended also to Thuringia, Munzer 
being connected with the movement, Luther, on publishing the 
compact between the Suabian league and the peasantry, gave ut- 
terance to his deep grief at the course of the heavenly pro- 
phets, who were seducing the poor multitude into such de- 
struction of their souls, and perhaps also loss of body and pro- 
perty, and exhorted the peasants to desist ; since, whether 



308 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION, 



they gained or lost, revenge would have to overtake them, God 
would endure it no longer. In the month of May, there ap- 
peared Luther's " Exhortation to peace, in reply to the twelve 
articles of the peasantry in Suabia." In this he says, that what 
had pleased him best in the twelve articles of the peasants, 
was their offer, in the twelfth article, of receiving better instruc- 
tion, where there was a deficiency and need of it. That if 
they were sincere in this, there still was hope that things 
would end well. And that, as they also appealed to him, 
he had the more readily and confidently, as brotherly love re- 
quired, published his instruction. He, in the first place, directs 
his exhortation to the princes and lords, and says, that to them, 
especially the blind bishops, mad priests and monks, such con- 
fusion and insurrection were to be ascribed, because they did 
not cease to rave and to rage against the holy Gospel, and in 
the temporal government did nothing but flay and exact, to 
maintain their splendour and pride, till finally the poor com- 
mon people could no longer endure it. That the sword was 
already upon their necks, and yet they imagined themselves to 
be so firmly seated in the saddle as if no one would be able to 
raise them out of it. That such security and obdurate pre- 
sumption would prove their destruction, as they would dis- 
cover. "This you are. to know, dear lords, God directs affairs 
so that your tyranny neither can be, nor will be, nor should be 
endured forever. You must become other men and yield to 
God's Word. If you do not do so in a friendly, ready way, you 
will have to do so through violent and destructive ways. If 
the peasants do not do it, others will have to do it. And 
though you should slay them all, they will yet not be extir- 
pated, God will raise up others. For he intends to slay you 
and will destroy you. It is not the peasants, dear lords, that 
resist you ; it is God himself that resists you, to visit upon you 
your tyranny. There are some among you who have declared, 
that they would risk dominions and people, to exterminate the 
Lutheran doctrines ; what think you ? If you had been your 
own prophets, and dominions and people were already slaked? 
Do not trifle with God, dear lords. The Jews also said, we 
have no king, and it has become so fearfully true, that ihey 
have to be forever without a king." He then guards himself 
against the charge, that all is owing to the Gospel and that it 
is a fruit of his doctrine, and refers to the tact, that, he had 
always contended against insurrection, and inculcated obedi- 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 309 

ence even towards tyrannical governments, and says, that if he 
were inclined to revenge himself he might now have his re- 
venge, by witnessing the proceedings of the peasants or even 
siding with them ; but that God would preserve him from that. 
He prays them to listen to his admonitions, not to despise the 
insurrection, not indeed to fear the peasants, but so much the 
more God, and on his account to exercise a little forbearance and 
reason towards the peasants, as towards intoxicated and erring 
men; therefore not to employ force against them, since the 
issue of such a course could not be foreseen, but first to deal 
kindly with them, as kindness would occasion no loss. 

Upon this he turns to the peasants, and assures them that 
there is no trifling here, that it effects the eternal weal or wo 
of body and soul, and that they should, most of all, consider, 
not how powerful they were, or how unjust the others were, 
but how good and just their own motives were. That they 
employed the name of God, called themselves a Christian com- 
munity, and pretended to have a disposition to act in accord- 
ance with divine right. Whether they did not know that the 
name of God was not to be unnecessarily and uselessly em- 
ployed, and that God would not hold him guiltless who used 
his name in vain ? that they however did this, would not be 
difficult to show. That Christ said : He that taketh the sword, 
shall perish through the sword ; and Paul : Let every soul be 
subject to the higher powers with fear and honour. That in op- 
position to these passages and rights of God, they nevertheless 
proceeded and took the sword and withstood the government ; 
therefore the sentence of God would be pronounced upon 
them : He that resisteth the ordinance of God, shall receive unto 
himself damnation. That though they said, the government 
was wicked and unjust, this did not excuse any plotting or in- 
surrection, since revenging of one's self was not only opposed 
to Christian right and the Gospel, but also to all natural right 
and justice. This he further explains to them, and shows how 
the right of the Christian is suffering and the cross, and from 
this draws the conclusion : " I permit your cause to be as good 
and right as it may ; but because you attempt to defend it 
yourselves and will not suffer violence or injustice, you may do 
or not do whatever God does not forbid you. But the Christian 
name. 1 say, lay aside, and do not make it a cloak for your im- 
patient, turbulent, and unchristian undertaking; this name I 
shall not leave nor allow you, but both by means of my writ- 



310 THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 

ings and my words, tear from you, as far as I am able, and 
whilst an artery beats in my body." . . . "For Christians do 
not contend for themselves with the sword, nor with rifles, but 
with the cross and suffering ; just as their leader, Christ, does 
not wield the sword, but hangs on the cross. Therefore their 
victory does not consist either in superiority, or ruling, or 
power, but in inferiority and weakness, as St. Paul says, 2 Cor. 
x. : The weapons of our waif are are not carnal, but mighty 
through God" Having then also informed them how true 
saints make known their distress to God, and seek help of 
Him, how they, however, had not such comfort and confidence 
to pray, he proceeds to speak of the articles and shows them, 
how they falsely boasted and excused themselves in the pre- 
face, as desiring to teach and to live according to the Gospel, 
and how their own word and work rebuked them, since not 
one article taught any part of the Gospel, but that their only 
aim was to obtain freedom for body and property. Concern- 
ing the first three articles he makes some remarks, the rest he 
commits to those conversant with law, and then also prays 
them to hear his argument from the Scriptures, and not in- 
stantly to exclaim : " Luther hypocritically flatters the princes, 
he speaks in opposition to the Gospel," and concludes : " I am 
excused before God and the world. I well know the false 
prophets among you ; do not listen to them ; they will assured- 
ly seduce you. Their object is not the peace of your con- 
science, but they would like to make Galatians of you, in 
order, through you, to obtain property and honour, and thus 
afterwards be, together with you, forever condemned in hell." 

In conclusion, he then addresses an admonition both to the 
government and to the peasantry, and assures them, that as there 
is nothing Christian on either side, and their contention was 
only about heathenish or worldly right and injustice, and tem- 
poral property, God also was opposed to both sides ; wherefore 
they should, for God's sake, receive advice and help, and pro- 
ceed about the matter with justice and not with violence ; that 
they might not occasion bloodshed in Germany, otherwise God 
would destroy them on both sides and chastise one knave with 
the other. The lords he reminds of the fact, that the tyrants 
upon the earth had usually met with a violent end, by which 
God had shown that he was judge upon the earth and would 
suffer no injustice to go unrebuked ; they should beware, lest 
they might perish in like manner if they did not reform. So 



^ THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 3ll 

he likewise declares to the peasants, that the Scriptures and 
experience demonstate, that no factious proceedings ever ended 
well, and that God always strictly enforces the Word : He that 
tuketh the sword shall perish through the sword. " That grieves 
me and excites my commiseration most of all," continues he, 
" and I would willingly yield my life to prevent such a result — 
that on both sides two inevitable injuries follow. For as 
neither part contends with a good conscience, but both parts 
strive in order to maintain what is wrong, it must follow, in 
the first place, that those who are slain are lost with body and 
soul forever, since they die in their sins without repentance 
and grace, in the wrath of God, here there is no help what- 
ever. For the lords would contend for the maintenance of 
their tyranny, the persecution of the Gospel and their un- 
righteous oppression of the poor, or else assist those of this 
class to confirm and to maintain those things. That truly is 
shocking and against God, whoever is found in it must be lost 
forever. The peasants, on the other hand, would contend for 
the purpose of defending their factious proceedings and abuse 
of the Christian name, both which are also highly displeasing 
to God ; and he that dies in and on account of them, must also 
be eternally- lost, here nothing will help. The other injury is, 
that Germany will be laid waste, and where such bloodshed 
once begins, it scarcely will cease till everything is destroyed. 
For strife is easily begun, but it is not in our power to stop it 
when we wish. What injury now have "you sustained from so 
many innocent children, women, and aged people, whom you 
fools draw into such danger, in order to fill the land with 
blood, robbery, widows and orphans." " Therefore," says he in 
conclusion, "my faithful advice would be, to select several 
counts and gentlemen from among the nobility, and from the 
cities several counsellors, and to have ihem, in a friendly way, 
investigate and settle the affair ; and you lords here should 
come down from your haughtiness, which you will, at any 
rate, be constrained to do at last, whether you will or not, and 
you should yield a little in your tyranny and oppression, that 
the common people also might gain air and space to breathe. 
The peasants, on the other hand, likewise should receive in- 
struction, and yield several articles which demand too much, 
so that the matter, if it cannot be arranged in a Christian way, 
may yet be settled according to human rights and compacts. 
If you will not follow such advice, which may God forbid, I 



312 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



must leave you to yourselves ; but I am innocent of your souls, 
blood, and property, you shall bear all yourselves. 1 have de- 
clared to you that you are in the wrong on both sides, and 
strive for what is wrong. Do, therefore, what you wish, as 
you are resolved not to follow, in order to preserve body and 
soul. But I and mine will pray God either to bring you on 
both sides to agree and to unite, or graciously to prevent your 
designs from being carried out ; though the terrible signs and 
wonders which have happened this while past, sadly distress 
me, and 1 fear that the wrath of God has begun to burn too 
violently, as he says in Ezekiel, (xiv. 14.) Although Noah, Job, 
and Daniel were in it, I would still have no pleasure in this people, 
Would to God you dreaded His wrath and repented, that the 
calamity might at least be delayed. But do as you may, I, as 
my conscience testifies to me, have, in all Christian and 
brotherly fidelity, sufficiently advised you. God grant that it 
may be of avail. Amen." 

But w 7 hen the peasants forgot the offer they had made in 
their twelfth article, and resorted to force, robbed and raved; 
Luther thought that as they acted differently from wiiat they 
said, he would likewise have to write differently concerning 
them, and hold up to them their sin, wherefore he wrote the 
writing: "Against the rapacious and murderous peasants/' In 
it he says : That the peasants had deserved death as to body 
and soul by three shocking sins. That, in the first place, 
having sworn fidelity and allegiance to their government, they 
had wickedly and nefariously violated this obedience, and 
risen up in arms against their lords. That they, in the second 
place, were causing insurrection, and, like public highway- 
robbers and murderers, were pillaging the cloisters and cas- 
tles. That they, in the third place, mantled this terrible, 
shocking sin with the Gospel, called themselves christian 
brethren, and compelled others to engage in such wickedness 
with them. That it did not either avail them anything to pre- 
tend, tha't, according to Genesis i. and ii., all things were 
created free and common, and that we were all baptized alike ; 
since Moses was not the authority of the New Testament, but 
Christ stood there and subjected our bodies and property to 
the emperor and temporal right, and baptism did not set free 
the body and property, but the souls of men, and the Gospel 
made property common with those only who voluntarily made 
it common, as the apostles and disciples did, Acts iv, 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 313 

That he therefore, as the peasants resisted both God and 
man, was constrained to instruct the government how it should 
proceed in this case, and preserve a good conscience. That 
if the government should resolve, without previous offer of 
right and equity, to discomfit and to punish such peasants, he 
would not withstand it, even if it did not receive the Gospel, 
because it had right on its side, since the peasants no longer 
contended for the Gospel, but had manifestly become faithless, 
perjured, disobedient, rebellious, murderers, robbers, blasphem- 
ers, whom even a heathen government has the right and power 
to punish. But that a government, which was christian and 
received the Gospel, should proceed with fear : that it should, 
in the first place, commit the matter to God, and confess that 
we have well deserved this, then humbly pray for help against 
Satan ; and when the heart was now so disposed towards God, 
as to permit his divine will to have its course, then it should, 
out of mercy, offer the mad peasants a redress of all just 
grievances ; then if this would not avail, boldly to seize the 
sword. For that a prince and lord was to remember here, 
that he was the steward of God and servant of his wrath, 
Rom. xiii., to whom the sword was committed against such 
knaves, and that he would sin just as grievously against God, 
by not punishing and warding off, and by not discharging the 
duties of his office, as one who committed murder when the 
sword was not committed to him. That the government should 
only proceed without hesitation, and strike boldly, since there 
was the advantage here, that the peasants had an evil con- 
science and an unjust cause ; the government, on the other 
hand, a good conscience and a just cause, so that he who was 
slain on the government side, if he contended with such a con- 
science, was a true martyr before God, because he acted in 
obedience to God's Word. And that one other important con- 
sideration for the government was, that the peasants were not 
satisfied with being of Satan themselves, but that they also 
compelled many pious people, who yielded with reluctance, to 
engage in their devilish proceedings, and thus made them par- 
takers of their wickedness and condemnation. That the gov- 
ernment should be merciful to such captives among the pea- 
sants, and if there were no other cause, on this account boldly 
draw the sword against the peasants, and itself stake life and 
property. "Therefore," says he in conclusion, " dear lords, 
deliver here, rescue here, be merciful to the poor people, stab, 



314 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



strike, slay here who can. If thou fallest among the slain, 
well for thee, a happier death thou never canst die ; for thou 
diest in obedience to the word and command of God, Rom. 
xiii., and in the service of love, to deliver thy neighbour from 
the bands of hell and of Satan. I, therefore, pray every one 
who can, to flee from the peasants as from Satan himself. But 
those that do not flee, I pray God to enlighten and to convert ; 
and may God grant, that those who cannot be converted, may 
meet with no prosperity or success. Here let every pious 
christian say : Amen ; for this prayer is right, and good, and 
acceptable to God, of this I am convinced. If any one con- 
ceives this to be too severe, let him remember, that fearful in- 
surrections and the destruction of the world are hourly to be 
expected." 

Luther himself had, at the instance of Count Albrecht, of 
Mansfeld, on the first Easter holyday, (the 16th April.) after 
sermon, hastily proceeded to Seeburg, and there preserved or- 
der and quiet among many of the miners, by his admonitions. 4 
Hereupon he also preached in the earldom of Stollberg, as 
likewise at Nordhausen, Erfurt, Weimar, Orlamiinde, Kahla, 
and Jena, doing all in his power to check the insurrection, 
(and being repeatedly in imminent danger of losing his life,) 
he would have proceeded further, if the death and the funeral 
of the elector Frederick had not suddenly recalled him. 

The latter had, on the 5th May, after having received the 
sacrament in both kinds, most gently fallen asleep, so that the 
attending physician had exclaimed : " He was a son of peace, 
and in peace he has died." At his interment in the castle- 
church, on the 9th and 10th May, Luther delivered two ser- 
mons on 1 Thess. iv. 13-18 ; and in his letter of condolence to 
Duke John Frederick, he says concerning the deceased : " It 
seems as if God had removed him, like king Josiah, that he 
might not witness such evil in the world, because he, all his 
lifetime, conducted his government in so peaceable, noiseless, 
and quiet a way, that he was justly called Frederick, for his 
actions were conformable to his name, and we may well wish 
too that such peaceful souls should not live amidst such strife 
and insurrections, and perhaps we would only have been 
grieved the more to have seen his last days cast amidst such" 
confusion." 

After his return from his journey, Luther wrote "the above- 
mentioned admonitory writing (p. 308), and when the madness 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



315 



of the peasants daily increased, the other writing (p. 312). On 
account of the latter writing he was greatly censured, as if it 
were unchristian and severe, and as if he inculcated the shed- 
ding of blood without all mercy. He justified himself in a 
letter to the Mansfeld chancellor, Caspar Miiller, which was 
published under the title : A missive concerning the severe book 
against the peasants. In it he, among other things, observes, 
that he had perhaps written and taught more concerning mer- 
cy than any one for a thousand years; but that he had also 
often enough written how we must make a distinction between 
the government of God and the temporal government. That 
the kingdom of God was a kingdom of grace and mercy, and 
not a kingdom of wrath and punishment ; for that in it there 
was nothing but forgiving, forbearing, loving, serving, doing 
good, having peace and joy, &c. ; but that the temporal gov- 
ernment was a government of wrath and severity, since in it 
there was nothing but punishing, rebuking, judging, and con- 
demning, for the purpose of constraining the wicked, and pro- 
tecting the pious. " Whoever, therefore," continues he, " should 
attempt to mix up these two governments, as our false and 
factious spirits do, he would place wrath in the government of 
God, and mercy in the temporal government : but this would 
be placing the devil in heaven, and God in hell ; and both 
these things these peasants would do. Formerly they wanted 
to employ the sword, and, as christian brethren to contend for 
the Gospel, and kill others when they ought to have shown 
mercy and forbearance. Now that the temporal government 
exercises its power against them, they desire mercy in it ; that 
is, they will endure no temporal government, nor are they 
willing to allow God's government to any one ; — what greater 
perverseness could be imagined ? Not so, dear friends ; if any 
one has deserved wrath in the temporal government, let him 
submit to it, and suffer the punishment, or humbly beg pardon. 
But those in the kingdom of God are to show mercy to all, and 
pray for them, but yet not hinder the just exercise and opera- 
tion of the temporal government, but assist and further them." 
Finally, he says, that when he had written in his book that 
the sword should be drawn against the rebels without any 
mercy, he by this had not taught that mercy was not to be ex- 
ercised towards the captives, and those that surrendered, and 
adds : " Neither do I, by this, mean to sustain the furious ty- 
rants, or to praise their raving ; for I understand that some of 



316 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



our manikin knights deal most cruelly with those poor men, 
and are audacious and haughty, as if they had triumphed and 
were already secure. Behold, they do not seek the punish- 
ment and reformation of the rebels, but give loose reins to 
their savage disposition, and gratify their insolence, which, 
perhaps, has for a long time tormented them, thinking that 
they have now found a fit opportunity. But especially do they 
now boldly oppose the Gospel, attempting again to establish 
endowed institutions and cloisters, and to preserve the crown 
for the pope, mixing up our cause with that of the rebels. But 
they shall likewise soon reap what they now sow, for He that 
sits above beholds them, and will come before they imagine it. 
I am convinced that they will fail to accomplish what they 
design, as they have failed hitherto," 

After the suppression of the insurrection, Luther wrote an 
u Opinion as to how the present Insurrection may be suppressed? 
which was translated into German by Spalatin, and in which 
he says : That as the present insurrection had taught a lesson 
of wisdom, and it had with great injury been experienced 
what resulted from a want of diligence in quieting the multi- 
tude, and preserving them contented, as far as possible ; it was 
necessary not only to employ violence, as in the present in- 
stance, but also reason, since mere violence could not succeed, 
but had a tendency to keep alive in the subject an eternal 
hatred towards the government. And now he draws atten- 
tion to the fact that this distress had arisen principally from 
the disorderly life of the clergy, and from the neglect of refor- 
mation here, wherefore it would be necessary to begin by first 
reforming this station, otherwise the poison could never be ex- 
tracted from the heart. 

In the year 1 525, a Polish Jew, a doctor of medicine, was 
arrested at Wittemberg, concerning whom Luther's friends had 
written to him, that he had been bribed with 2000 florins in 
gold to poison him. The hope was entertained that it might 
be ascertained from him by whom he had been despatched, 
but he would not give the information voluntarily, and Luther 
not being willing to have him subjected to the rack, but suc- 
ceeded in having him set free, although he was fully convinced 
that he was the very individual whom his friends had desig- 
nated to him, the descriptions being all verified. 5 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



317 



Authorities. — Sleid. lib. IV. Let. No. 578. Works, vol. 19, p. 
303. Writing : Against the new idol, &c, vol. 18, p. 5.i. Writing : 
Against the armed man Cochleus, &c , ib. p. 460. Let No. 578, 631, 
505. Works, vol. 19, p. 1. The letters of Erasmus here quoted, in 
Seckend. lib. I, § CLXXIX. Let. No. 592, 593. Answer of Eras- 
mus in Seckend. 1. c. Writ. De Servo arbitrio, German Works, vol. 
19, p. 2. Let. No. 586, 601. Seckend. lib. I., p. 302, lib. II., p. 28. 
Let. No. 624. Works, vol. 19, p. 148. Mathes. Let. No. 627, 642, 
643. Writ, against the heavenly prophets, vol. 19, p. L56. Let. No. 
678, 684, (ell. Seckend. 1. c.) 616, 617. JYliinzer's Writ, against Lu- 
ther in Seidemann's Thomas Miinzer, p. 47. Compact between the 
Suabian League, &c. Works, vol. 19, p. 246. Writ. Exhortation to 
peace, &c, ib. p. 253. Writ. Against the rapacious and murderous 
peasants, ib. p. 248. Seckend. lib. II., p. 9, according to Spalatin's 
relation, (Comp. Works, Hall, ed., vol. 16, p. 1935.) Ibid. p. 33, 34, 
(the sermons at the interment of the elector,) Works, vol. 12, p. 209. 
Let. No. 701. Seckend. lib. II., p. 9. Letter to Caspar Muller, Works, 
vol, 19, p. 267. Writ. Opinion as to how the present insurrection may 
be suppressed, ib. p. 551. Let. No. 664, 674. 

Notes. — 1.) K. did so under the pretence that the parish of Orla- 
miinde, with its incomes, was assigned to the university of Wittenberg, 
which maintained a vicar there. See Seckend. lib. II., p. 28. 

2. ) These transactions, as well as those at Jena, were published, 
(see Works, vol. 19, p. 152 sq.) but this relation is designated by Lu- 
ther as only half true and as partial, (see let. No. 620,) and there has 
been only so much extracted from both as is confirmed by other state- 
ments. 

3. ) Concerning the mystical terminology of Miinzer comp. Seide- 
mann's Thorn. Miinzer, p. 58. 

4. ) Luther himself, in a letter to Spalatin, (No. 693.) gives as the 
occasion of this journey: This hour I depart for Eisleben, in company 
with Philip and M. Eisleben, we being called thither for the purpose of 
establishing a christian school. Both objects, however, can well be 
united. 

5. ) In letter No. 664, there is mentioned only one, in No. 674, several 
Jews ; he probably had companions. The whole account is given more 
circumstantially according to Luther's own narration in the Works, vol. 
17, p. 379 ; some particulars, nevertheless, remain obscure. 



CHAPTER VI. 

luther's marriage. 

In the year 1521, on the 20th Sunday after Trinity, Luther had 
laid aside his cowl and begun to wear a black gown, the Elec- 
tor Frederick having presented him the cloth for it, with the 
words : To have a preacher's gown or a monk's hood made of 



318 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



it for himself; or, if he chose, a Spanish hood, with which 
words the elector had secretly ridiculed the monks. He also 
already, in the year 1524, together with the prior Eberhard 
Brisger, negotiated with the elector concerning the consign- 
ment of the cloister to him ; for they were the only two yet re- 
maining in the cloister, (excepting several who had been exiled 
on account of the Gospel, and whom they had with them from 
Christian love, 1 ) and the prior likewise was anxious to depart, 
and then, Euther thought, it would no longer be proper for him 
to remain there ; he would, therefore, be compelled to look for 
an occupation, where God would maintain him. 2 At that time, 
however, he did not yet think of marrying, as is evident from a 
letter to Spalatin, (of the 30th Nov., 1524,) in which he com- 
missions the latter, in his name, to thank Argula von Stauffen? 
who had written that he should enter into the marriage state, 
and to inform her : that he undoubtedly was in the hand of 
God, as his creature, whose heart he could change, and change 
again, kill and make alive, ever}*- moment and hour. " But," 
added he, " as my heart has thus far been inclined, and is still 
inclined, it will not come to pass, that I shall take a wife. 
Not as though I do not feel my flesh or my sex, for I am not of 
wood or stone ; but my thoughts are not directed to marrying, 
because I daily expect to be put to death, or to be executed as 
a heretic. Therefore, I shall not set God a limit for his work 
in me, neither persist in my own views ; I trust, however, that 
God will not suffer me to live long." 

It was ordered otherwise. On the 2d June, ] 525, Luther 
wrote to the Elector Albrecht, of Mayence, exhorting him, in 
view of important considerations, to enter into the marriage 
state, to convert the bishopric into a temporal principality, and 
to lay aside the false name and appearance of the spiritual 
station. And to his brother-in law, Dr. John Rtihel, at Mans- 
feld, (who also was counsellor to the elector of Mayence,) he 
wrote at the same time : " And if his electoral grace should 
again say, as I understood he did before, why I myself do not 
marry, whilst I exhort every body to do so ; you are to answer, 
that I have always still feared, that I was not fit to take such 
a step. If my marriage, however, should be an encourage- 
ment to his electoral grace, I will be quite prepared, to pre- 
cede, and to set his electoral grace the example, as I, at any 
rate, intend, before I depart this life, to be found in the mar- 
riage state, which I consider as demanded of God ; even if it 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



319 



should be nothing further than a betrothed Joseph-marriage." 4 
And, behold, on the 13th June, Luther, without previously con- 
sulting any of his friends with regard to the matter, took Ca- 
tharine Hon Bora to wife. She was one of the nuns, that had 
fled from Nimptschen, and had till then resided in the house 
of the town-clerk, Philip Reichenbach, in Burgomaster-street, 
at Wittenberg, having demeaned herself quietly and becom- 
ingly. " If it had been my design thirteen years ago to mar- 
ry," said Luther once, subsequently, at table, " I would have 
chosen Eve Schonfield. My Kate I did not love at that time, 
for I suspected her of being proud and haughty. But it pleas- 
ed God thus, who wished that I should take pity on her, and, 
thanks to God, I was fortunate, for I have a pious, faithful wife, 
upon whom the heart of a man can depend, as Solomon says : 
She is a frugal housewife." Abraham Scultetus relates: " Lu- 
ther having endeavoured to betroth the former nun, Catharine 
von Bora, to Dr. Glatz, she came to Amsdorf and complained, 
that Luther wished, against her will, to give her in marriage to 
Dr. Glatz ; and knowing Amsdorf to be Luther's intimate friend, 
she begged him to prevail upon Luther to desist from this pro- 
ject. That if he or Luther desired her for a wife, she would not 
refuse ; that Dr. Glatz, however, could not have her. Luther 
being informed of this, and having, moreover, heard Dr. Jerome 
Schurf remark : i If this monk should take a wife, the whole 
world and the devil himself would laugh, and his cause would 
be utterly ruined,' he, in order to vex the world and the devil, 
as well as to comply with the wish of his father, who had ad- 
vised him to marry, took said Catharine to wife." On the 13th 
June, (as stated,) Luther, in company with Dr. Bugenhagen, 
Lucas Kranach, the painter, and the jurist, Apellus, unexpect- 
edly proceeded to th$ house of the town-clerk, and sued with 
him for lady Catharine von Bora, who, at first, did not know 
whether he was serious, but on perceiving him to be so, gave 
her consent. (Bugenhagen performed the marriage ceremony.) 
And because, perhaps, they were not then prepared to enter- 
tain more guests, they on the following day instituted a respec- 
table and public feast in honour of the betrothment, for which 
the council of Wittenberg, besides the usual congratulation, 
sent fourteen measures of various kinds of wine. 5 

Luther designedly celebrated his marriage without delay 
and ado, because he considered the postponement of the mar- 
riage, after the betrothment, as imprudent, since Satan was al- 



320 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



ways ready to cause difficulties, through malicious tongues and 
calumniators, as he had seen it to be the case at Melanchthon's 
and Agricola's marriage, and as he presumed, it would like- 
wise have been at his own, bis best friends having exclaimed : 
Not this one, but another. On the 27th of June, however, he 
instituted a solemn marriage feast, to which he. among others, 
invited his Mansfeld friends, Dr. John Ruhel, John Thu\ Cos- 
par Mailer, in the following letter : " Grace and peace in Christ. 
What a clamour, dear sirs, have I not occasioned by my little 
book against the peasants ! Here all the good is forgotten, 
which God has granted the world through me. Now, lords, 
priests, peasants, all oppose me, and menace me with deaih. 
Well, then, as they are mad and foolish, I also shall prepare 
myself, that, before my departure, I may be found in the sta- 
tion created by God, and, as far as possible, lay aside every- 
thing of my former papistical life, thus rendering them yet 
more mad and foolish, and all this by way of a final adieu. 
For I myself have a presentiment, that God will yet bestow 
upon me his grace. So 1 have also, in compliance with the 
wishes of my dear father, entered the married state, and, in 
order to prevent these malicious tongues from putting obsta- 
cles in the way, without delay consummated the marriage ; and 
intend, in a week from Tuesday, the day following St. John 
the Baptist's day, to prepare a litt le enjoyment in honour of my 
entrance upon domestic life. This I did not wish to conceal 
from you, as good friends and lords, and I pray that, you would 
aid in pronouncing the blessing upon our union. But as the 
times are so unpropitious, I shall not urgently insist upon and 
demand your presence. But if you would come of your own 
accord, and could also bring my dear father and mother with 
you, you may easily conceive yourselves^ that it would afford 
me special joy ; and whatever good friends you might bring 
with you to my humble entertainment, would be welcome ; 
only I pray you to inform me of anything in this respect, 
through this messenger. I would also have written to my gra- 
cious lords, the Counts Gebhard and Adelbrecht, concerning 
this matter, but did not venture to do so, as their highnesses 
have more important things to attend to than to busy them- 
selves about me. If, however, it should seem necessary to you 
to do anything in this respect, 1 pray you to inform me of your 
opinion." 

To the marshal, John von Dolzig, he wrote : " The strange 



CATMAROTAviot B©JRA« 



I 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 321 

cry, no doubt, has reached your ears, with regard to my having 
been married. And although this is rather a curious piece of 
news to me, and I can scarcely credit it myself, the testimony 
of the witnesses, nevertheless, is so overpowering, that I must, 
out of becoming respect for them, give credit to it, and accord- 
ingly intend, on next Tuesday, with my father and mother and 
other friends, to seal and to confirm it by a collation. I there- 
fore respectfully pray you, if it be not inconvenient, kindly to 
provide me with some wild game, and to be present yourself, 
and, augmenting our joy, help to impress the seal, and the 
like." 

Finally to Amsdorf : " It is true, therefore, that I have sud- 
denly been joined in marriage to Catharine, without allowing 
the clamour about it to break out, as is usual on such occa- 
sions. For I trust I have but a short time to live ; and I could 
not refuse this last act of obedience to my father, who desired 
this of me in the hope that God would bless me with offspring. 
I at the same time wished, by my example, to confirm what I 
have taught, since I find that many, notwithstanding the light 
of the Gospel, still are timorous. God has thus willed it and 
accomplished it. I am neither in love, nor fervent, neverthe- 
less I love my wife." 

Luther's marriage not only gave occasion for much calumny 
to his enemies, but some of his friends also were perplexed by it. 
Melanchthon wrote to Camerarius concerning it: "It may per- 
haps surprise some, that in these unhappy times in which all 
pious and upright men everywhere mourn, Luther seems not 
only not to take to heart the present sad state of things, but 
even not to be at all concerned about it." He then endeavours 
to explain and to justify the step Luther had taken, and adds : 
"But if there is anything rash and inconsiderate in this matter, 
we will not let that disturb us. For there is, perhaps, a hidden 
design of God connected with it, concerning which we are not 
impertinently to inquire, and on account of which we are to 
be unconcerned about the buffooneries of several mockers and 
calumniators, who exercise themselves neither in a pious life 
before God, nor in an upright life before men." 

Luther himself was undisturbed by the clamour, and among 
others quieted the apprehensions of his friend, Mich. Stiefel, 
saying: "If my marriage is the work of God, what marvel is 
it that the flesh takes offence at it ; does it not even take 
offence that God, the Creator, offers his flesh as ransom and 

21 



322 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION* 



food for the salvation of the world. If the world did not take 
offence at us, I would take off ence at it, and fear that what we 
do is not of God. Now that it is offended and displeased at 
me, I edify and comfort myself through it. Do thou do like- 
wise." 

Of his wife he could say: "That he valued her more than 
the kingdom of France, or the wealth of the Venetians, for that 
a pious wife had been bestowed upon him by God, so he also 
to her. Again: That he heard of many greater failings and 
defects everywhere among married people, than were to be 
found in her. Again : That it was superabundant cause for 
loving and esteeming her, that she was faithful in her conjugal 
relation as became a pious, modest wife." And on his inform- 
ing the above-mentioned friend, a year afterwards, that God 
had (on the 7th June, 1526,) blessed him with a healthy son, 
(John,) 6 he adds: "Kate, my rib, greets thee, and thanks thee 
for having honoured her with so amiable a letter. She herself 
is well, God be praised, and is obedient to me, and ready to 
serve me in all things, being more useful to me than I had 
ventured to hope, God be thanked, so that I would not ex- 
change my poverty for the treasures of a Croesus." 

Authorities. — Aurifaber's Narration in the Works, vol. 19, p. 302. 
Let. No. 645, 637, 710, 712. Mel. Epp., No. 344. ConsiJ. Viteberg, 
Tom. IV., p. -16. Tischreden, ed. of Stangwald, p. 665. Abr. Sculte- 
tus. Annal. Evang., p. 80. Cons. Vit. 1. c. (comp. M. Richter, Gene- 
alogia LutheroTum, p. 266.) Tischr., p. 663. Let. vol. 3, No. 715, 
721, 723. Mel. Epp. 1. c. Let. No. 742. Tischr. p. 666. Let. 
No. 816. 

Notes. — 1.) L. nearly always had persons with him in his house, 
who had elsewhere been exiled on account of the Gospel, some even of 
noble rank. The actual consignment of the cloister occurred in the 
following year, (Let. No. 730.) L. nevertheless, continued to reside 
in it as a private person, (No. 742,) and subsequently received it as a 
present from the elector. 

2. ) The straitened circumstances of L. at that time are learned 
from Let. 646, and 647. 

3. ) Of the respectable family of the Stauffens, in Bavaria, espoused 
to the Franconian knight, von Grumbach. She had defended Luther 
against his enemies, in reference to his translation of the Bible. Sec- 
kend. lib. I., p. 205. 

4. ) Compare with this the passage in the Tischreden: "Before I 
took a wife I had fully resolved to honour the marriage state, so that if 
1 should have been called unexpectedly to die, or had now been lying 
upon the bed of death, I would have had myself joined in wedlock to a 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



323 



pious young woman, and would have given her two silver cups as her 
portion." 

5. ) The investigations concerning the chronology and other particu- 
lars, see in the monographs concerning this subject, for instance, of the 
most recent " History of Catharine von Bora," by Beste. Halle, 1843, 
p. 34. sqq. 

6. ) We will here at once give a statement of Luther's children in 
order : 

1. John, born on the 7th June, 1526, died as Dr. jar?, at Konigsberg, 
on the 28th October, 1575. Karl Reinthaler, the deserving supcrin- 
tendant of the Martin Institute, at Erfurt, in the year 1830, discovered 
impoverished descendants of his in Bohemia, and took them under his 
care ; some, however, yet doubt the genuineness of the genealogy which 
traces their origin to Luther. 

2. Elizabeth, born on the 10th December, 1527, died 3d August, 
1528. 

3. Magdalene, born on the 4th May, 1529, died 20th October, 1542. 

4. Martin, born on the 7th November, 1531, died in private life 
on the 3d March, 1565. 

5. Paul, born on the 28th January, 1533, private physician at 
different courts, died on the 8th March, 1593. 

6. Margaret, born 1534, died, (wedded name von Kunlheim,) 1570. 



CHAPTER VII. 

CONTESTS AND BUILDING UP. 1525 AND 1526. 

Luther complained that after the death of the Elector Frede 
rick, and the suppression of the insurrection of the peasantry 
Duke George conceived himself able to do everything, being 
nearly insane and teeming with rage ; but that Christ had 
completely frustrated his designs thus far, and would frustrate 
them still further. To this was added the abduction of thir- 
teen nuns from the territory of Duke George, which caused a 
new commotion to burst upon Luther's head ; several noblemen 
at the court of the elector even being very much enraged 
against him, so that he could not venture, without incurring 
danger, to proceed to Altenburg, to Spalatin's nuptials, but 
suffered the tears of his Catharine to keep him back. 

He, nevertheless, again experienced the joy to behold how 
Christ rules in his might, and how that which had seemed as 
if it would involve the Gospel in ruin, turned out to its advan- 
tage. There were also gradually introduced various good new 
regulations. In the beginning, Luther always had rested sa- 
tisfied with turning the hearts of men away from their un- 



324 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



christian conceits, in regard to outward worship, and had hesi- 
tated to introduce anything new. But because he hoped that 
the hearts of men were enlightened and strengthened through 
the grace of God, and because the situation of affairs demand- 
ed that something should be hazarded in the name of Christ, 
he had, in the year 1523, published his Formula missae et com- 
munionis pro Ecclesia, Vitebergensi, (German, by Speratus, 
under the title: "A form to celebrate Christian mass, and to 
go to the table of the Lord.") This was succeeded in the year 
1526, by his " German mass, and order of divine worship," on 
publishing which, however, he expressly observed : " Yet I do 
not herewith desire, that those who already have their good 
regulations, or who through the grace of God can make better 
ones, should reject them and yield to us. For I do not enter- 
tain the view that Germany must entirely adopt our Witten- 
berg regulations." 

Inasmuch as there was a want of German hymns suited for 
Divine service, 1 Luther, in imitation of the prophets and an- 
cient father's of the church, undertook the composition of Ger- 
man psalms, or spiritual songs, for the benefit of the common 
people, that the Word of God might be preserved among them, 
if by nothing else, by the singing ; and he called upon Spala- 
tin to assist him in this, to try his muse upon some psalm ; he 
however, at the same time expressed the wish that new and 
polished expressions might be avoided, so that simplicity and 
intelligibility be not lost sight of, still that the language must 
be uncorrupted and adapted, the thoughts expressed clearly, 
and, as far as possible, faithfully, according to the psalms. 
Thus, then, (in the year 1524 and 1525,) there appeared the first 
collection of Spiritual Songs and Psalms, 2 with a preface by 
Luther, in which he says : " They have also been set to four 
parts, for no other reason, than that I am anxious that the 
youth, who ought by all means to be instructed in music, and 
other useful arts, might have something to engage them, that 
they might cast aside wanton and carnal songs, and in their 
stead learn something profitable, so that what is good might 
be acquired with pleasure, as it should be by the young. I am 
not of the opinion, that through the Gospel all arts are to be 
crushed and destroyed, as some silly spirits imagine, but I 
would very much wish to see all arts, especially music, made 
use of in the service of Him who has given and created them." 

Luther further, on perceiving how the endowed institutions, 



THE STRUGGLES OF .THE REFORMATION. 



325 



cloisters, and chapels were declining, it seeming as if God and 
the world were weary of monasticism and false spirituality, 
was anxious, by timely christian advice and admonition, to 
prevent "the property of these pernicious institutions from 
being seized by every one at random." He accordingly, as 
early as the year 1523, published the order of the common trea- 
sury, which had been established at Leissnig, whither he him- 
self had twice proceeded, and also an " Advice how the spirit- 
ual property is to be applied" in the hope that God would add 
his blessing, so that this order might become a general exam- 
ple, which many other congregations would imitate. So he 
likewise, in the year 1524, published a writing: " To the bur- 
gomasters and counsellors of all the cities in Germany, that they 
should establish and maintain christian schools" In the begin- 
ning thereof he complains, that everywhere in Germany 
schools were now permitted to decline, and because it was no 
longer possible to banish children into the cloisters and en- 
dowed institutions, no one was willing further to have his 
children learn or study, through which the devil was occasion- 
ing greater injury than through the Turks. " Therefore," says 
he, " I pray you all, my dear friends, for God's sake, and the 
sake of the poor youth, not to esteem this matter so lightly, 
as many do who do not perceive what the prince of this world 
designs. For it is a serious and important matter, which 
greatly concerns Christ and all the world, that we help and 
counsel the poor youth. In this way, indeed, we help and 
counsel ourselves. And consider that it is necessary to meet 
this quiet, secret, artful temptation of Satan with great chris- 
tian seriousness. Dear sirs, do ye not annually expend great 
sums for rifles, roads, bridges, dams, and innumerable other 
things of the kind, in order that a town may enjoy temporal 
peace and prosperity ? Why not much rather expend at least 
equally as much upon the necessitous and poor youth, so that 
at least one or two efficient men be employed as school-teach- 
ers V That vast sums of money and property had heretofore 
been wasted upon indulgences, masses, vigils, &c. ; that now, 
inasmuch as through the grace of God, they were delivered 
from such robbery, a part of the same might, in gratitude to 
God, and to His honour, in future be expended for schools, for 
educating the unhappy youth, which would be a most excel- 
lent investment. That God the Almighty had verily gracious- 
ly visited Germany, and granted a truly golden year, since 



326 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



Germany had perhaps never been so well supplied with God's 
Word as it was then. " If now for all this we return ingrati- 
tude and dishonour, it is to be feared that we will be subjected 
to yet more terrible darknessand calamities. Dear Germans, 
purchase, whilst you may, an opportunity ; gather whilst the 
weather is fair and pleasant ; embrace God's Word and grace 
whilst you can have them. For this you are to know, that 
God's Word and grace may be likened to a passing shower, 
.which does not return where it has once been. It was with 
the Jews ; but gone is gone ; now they have nothing. Paul 
brought it to Greece ; gone is also gone ; now they have the 
Turks. Rome and the country of the Latins also had it ; gone 
is gone ; now they have the pope. And you, Germans, are not 
to imagine that you will have it for ever ; for this ingratitude 
and contempt will not suffer it to remain. Therefore reach 
forth and take a firm hold, whoever can reach forth and hold : 
indolent hands will have an unproductive year." As the chief 
of all considerations, however, he set forth the commandment 
of God, which Moses so often inculcated, requiring parents to 
instruct their children ; that it was a sin and a shame, how- 
ever, to suffer themselves first to be urged to this duty, whilst 
nature itself ought to urge them, as was abundantly exhibited 
in the examples of the heathens. 

Hereupon he replied, firstly, to the objection that this con- 
cerned only parents, and not counsellors and governments ; 
and to the other objection : " Although we ought to have, and 
must have schools, what does it benefit us, however, to teach 
the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages, and other liberal 
arts ? It suffices for salvation to teach the Bible and God's 
Word in German," he answers : " Yes, alas ! I know that we 
Germans must always be, and continue to be, beasts and sense- 
less brutes, as the surrounding nations also call us, and we 
well deserve to be called so. I wonder, however, why we don't 
likewise say: what need we the silk, wine, spices, and the 
merchandize of foreigners, whilst we ourselves have wine, 
grain, wool, flax, wood, and stone in Germany, not only in 
abundance for sustenance, but also in such quantity and qual- 
ity as to afford choice and selection, for honour and ornament. 
The arts and the languages, which do us no hurt, and are a 
greater ornament, honour, advantage and benefit to us, both 
for understanding the Holy Scriptures, and for conducting the 
temporal government, we venture to despise, but with foreign 



4 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. * 327 

merchandize, which we do not need, and which benefits us 
nothing, and only flays us to the bone, with it we are unwil- 
ling to dispense : are those not truly German fools and brutes V 
He then further says, that although the Gospel had come, and 
daily came, only through the Holy Ghost, it had, nevertheless, 
come through the medium of the languages, had increased by 
their means, and would also have to be preserved by their 
means, for that the languages were the sheath in which the 
sword of the spirit was contained. That experience had 
shown, how, after the times of the Apostles, when the lan- 
guages had ceased, the Gospel also, and faith, and all Chris- 
tendom had more and more declined, and that if the Fathers 
had often erred in regard to the scriptures, it had been in con- 
sequence of a want of acquaintance with the languages. 
That an ordinary preacher of faith was a very different per- 
sonage from an expositor of the scriptures, or, as St. Paul 
called him, a prophet. That an ordinary preacher had so 
many clear passages and texts in translations, that he could 
learn to know and teach Christ, as well as lead a holy life and 
preach to others : but that it was impossible without the lan- 
guages to explain the Scriptures, and to combat the errors of 
those who perverted the Scriptures. That the languages, 
therefore, were absolutely needed in Christendom, just as well 
as the prophets or expositors, even though every christian or 
preacher was not such a prophet as St. Paul said 1 Cor. xii. 8 
and 9 ; Ephes. iv. 11. 

M But even if there were no soul," he adds, " and we had 
not the least need of schools and of the languages, for the 
sake of the Scriptures and of God, this one reason should suf- 
fice to cause the establishment of the very best schools every- 
where, both for boys and girls ; that the world needs accom- 
plished men and women also, for maintaining its outward tem- 
poral prosperity, so that the men may be capable of properly 
governing the country and the people — the women to superin- 
tend the house, children, and servants. Now, such men must 
come of boys, and such women of girls ; therefore the object 
must be rightly to instruct and to educate boys and girls for 
these purposes. Now I have said above, that the common 
class of men do nothing towards this, nor can they, if they 
were so disposed, because they do not know how. Princes 
and lords should take it in hand ; but they are busy with 



328 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



sleigh-riding, drinking, and running the rounds of their mum- 
mery, being burdened with the lofty and important affairs of 
the cellar, the kitchen, and the chamber. And even where 
some would willingly engage in the work, they must fear the 
rest, lest they be taken for fools and heretics. Therefore it 
devolves wholly upon you, dear counsellors ; you also have 
room and vocation for it, more than the princes and lords." 

In the year 1526 Luther endeavoured to be reconciled with 
King Henry the VIII. of England and Duke George of Saxony. 
With regard to the King of England, King Christian of Den- 
mark had given him a very favourable representation, and had 
earnestly entreated him, humbly to write, that it would be pro- 
ductive of good, so that Luther thought to himself: "Who 
knows, there are twelve hours in a day, if thou couldst hit 
upon a favourable hour in the name of God, and gain the king 
of England, it certainly would be thy duty to do so ; and if thou 
shouldst be wanting, thou wouldst commit sin." He according- 
ly, under date of the 1st September, 1525, wrote to the king and 
said : that he had acted foolishly and rashly in publishing his 
book against him, (see above, p. 265,) and assailing him so se- 
verely in it ; and since he had now through credible witnesses 
learned, that the book which had appeared against him, under 
the king's name, was not the king's book, he felt ashamed to 
lift up his eyes before him, that he had permitted himself to be 
excited against so great a king by such men. That he, in ad- 
dition, had heard how the king had begun to be favourably 
disposed towards the Gospel, which had been joyful news to 
his heart. That he therefore with this letter cast himself at 
the feet of the king, and begged forgi veness, for the sake of the 
love of Christ, of his cross and of his glory, would also, if the 
king desired it, publish a revocation, and again honour the 
name of the king, hoping to God, that it would prove of no little 
advantage to the Gospel, if he should have occasion to write to 
the king of England on behalf of the Gospel. That he mean- 
while prayed God, to permit him to abound more and more, as 
he had begun, so that he might obey the Gospel with all his 
heart, and not suffer his royal ears and senses to be captivated 
by those pernicious siren voices, who merely wished to decry 
Luther as a heretic. He then briefly vindicated his doc- 
trines, and concluded with the wish : that God would grant, 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



329 



that the king of England might soon become just as faith- 
ful a disciple of Christ and confessor of the Gospel, as he 
hoped he would be Luther's gracious lord. 

So, under date of the 22d December, he also wrote an humble 
letter to Duke George, having been persuaded to this by the ur- 
gent representations of several noble lords, subjects of the duke, 
they having encouraged Luther with the hope that it would 
prove advantageous to the Gospel. After remarking in the 
introduction, that he, in accordance with the examples in the 
Scriptures, had severely and sharply attacked the duke in his 
writings, but had also sincerely prayed God to dispose the 
duke to be his gracious lord, and had, moreover published many 
approved sermons and books, from which every one could learn 
that he was not ill-disposed towards any one. He continued : 
" As I, however, perceive, that your princely grace does not in 
the least turn from your inclemency, but without ceasing pur- 
sues the same course; I have been induced once more humbly 
and earnestly, through this writing, to beseech your princely 
grace, perhaps for the last time. For it seems to me, that God 
designs soon to take some of us hence, and it is to be appre- 
hended, that Duke George and Luther may be of the number. 
But for what I do, I can appeal to God, as my heart testifies to 
me, that I do it for the good of your electoral grace, under a 
sense of duty and obligation, which urges me to have care for 
the salvation of the soul of your princely grace, as I acknow- 
ledge myself in duty bound to have even for my enemies. 
Whether now your princely grace accept, (which may God 
grant !) or not, (which may God forbid !) your princely grace 
shall nevertheless shortly learn, that, notwithstanding my se- 
vere writing, I have been better disposed and am still better 
disposed, than all those, who now so highly exalt and admira- 
bly flatter your princely grace. I therefore sincerely cast my- 
self at the feet of your princely grace, and most humbly pray 
that your princely grace would at last desist from the inclement 
project of persecuting my doctrine." He added, that he did 
not say this, from fear of sustaining great injury from such 
persecution, since he had nothing further to lose than his vile 
body, which was daily hastening to the tomb. That he, more- 
over, had a much greater enemy opposed to him, namely, 
Satan; that he had so far been greatly benefitted by being 
persecuted ; but that because he knew his doctrine to be the 
Word of God, he could not, without endangering the salvation 



330 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



of his own soul, cease to be concerned, pray and entreat for 
the soul of the duke, if perhaps by his admonitions he might 
accomplish something. He then entreats the duke not to 
regard his humble person, and says, that neither the duke nor 
any other man would be able to crush his doctrine, because it 
was not his own, and warned the duke not to run against the 
corner-stone, Jesus Christ, especially since God had, in other 
respects, granted the duke much virtue and ability. That he 
would gladly seek to please the duke in everything except in 
swerving from the wholesome doctrine. " In other respects," 
says he, " I submissively pray and seek forgiveness, if in any- 
thing I have wronged your princely grace, either through my 
writings or my words. I heartily forgive every thing that your 
princely grace has enacted against me, and shall pray for and 
undoubtedly obtain forgiveness from my Lord Jesus Christ for 
all that your princely grace may have done against His Word." 
The duke, he continued, should yield in this one respect, to 
permit the Word of Christ to be free ; that all the angels in 
heaven would rejoice at this. That he had diligently prayed 
and would continue to pray for the duke, and wished also, by 
this writing, to prevent his being necessitated to pray against 
the duke ; since though he and his friends were but a small 
flock, the duke would, nevertheless, not succeed, if they were * 
necessitated to pray against him ; for they knew that what 
their Lord Christ had promised, He would fulfil, and the duke 
might perhaps learn, that it was not one and the same thing 
to strive against Mtinzer and against Luther. M This, there- 
fore," says he in conclusion, "I have (God grant, not finally,) 
most humbly and faithfully written to your princely grace, and 
may God dispose your princely grace to answer me in a 
gracious and Christian way, more with the living act than 
wiih dead letters. Amen," 

But Luther was disappointed in his expectations. The King 
of England and Duke George both manifested great hostility 
in their replies, 3 and he observed : " I am and remain a sheep, 
that I suffer myself so easily to be persuaded and guided and 
led about, to make my court to such grandees, and do not 
much rather follow my own opinion, so that, where I might 
have given a tyrant or highly-learned personage one stab, and 
he grew displeased on account of it, I would follow it up by 
thirty additional stabs, to show my sorrow and repentance, then 
they would know how I retract my doctrines, 4 since I at any 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



331 



rate know that the tyrants cannot deprive me of anything 
more than this filthy mass of corruption, my body, and the 
highly-learned may deprive me of my honour, which, how- 
ever, are never for a moment my own. The world is resolved 
to be despised and bantered, or it banters itself. Nevertheless, 
what I have done in this case does not grieve me, because I 
did it to serve the Gospel, to serve which I am prepared to 
suffer, and shall do even more." — " And why should I not bear 
with him," — says he elsewhere concerning Duke George,— 
"when I must bear with the children of my own household, 
my Absaloms, who so furiously oppose me ? Those Sacra- 
mentarians, I mean, compared with whose rage, that of the 
papists must be considered gentleness ; so severely does Sa- 
tan, through them, assail me." (Comp. ch. 10, below.) 

Luther was involved in new difficulties with the duke, in 
consequence of the (pretended ?) league for crushing the 
Evangelicals, concerning which Otto von Pack had given the 
Landgrave of Hesse information. It was Luther's intention 
to publish a writing in reference to this subject, under the 
title : " Instruction and warning in view of the hatef ul, seditious 
and treacherous design of the collective body of the priesthood of 
Mayence ; " but in obedience to the wish of the elector, he 
refrained. Duke George, nevertheless, having obtained a part 
of the work, entered complaints on account of it, and Luther 
was constrained to defend himself against him. 

In the years 1525 and 1526, Luther also published the fol- 
lowing didactic and consolatory writings : Deuteronomium 
Mose ex Hebrceo castigatum cum annotationibus, (the book of 
Deuteronomy, corrected from the Hebrew, w T ith notes.) It 
was the result of a course of lectures which he had delivered 
at home to his fellow monks ; and when he, at their request, 
published it, he dedicated it to the bishop of Samland, George 
von Polenz, by way of congratulating him, that God had chosen 
him alone from among all the bishops, and delivered him from 
the jaws of Satan, since he not only had publicly confessed 
God's Word, but was also zealously striving to have it taught 
in his diocese. 

The explanation of the book of Exodus, from the 1st to the 19th 
chapter, concerning which he had delivered sermons at Wit- 
tenberg, in the years 1524-1526. 

Tlie explanation of the prophet Habakkuk, concerning whom, 
as well as concerning the prophet Jonah and Ecclesiastes, he 



332 THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 

had lectured in the year 1526, and which he had proposed to 
himself to explain, that he might likewise be brought to the 
light, and that it might be seen what was contained therein, 
and what the Holy Ghost said and taught through him. 

The explanation of the four consolatory Psalms, (38th, 62d, 
94th and 109th,) which he dedicated to Queen Maria of Hun- 
gary, who, he had heard, was favourably disposed towards the 
Gospel, and whose husband, King Louis, had fallen in the war 
against the Turks. 

Finally, the writing : " Whether military men can be in a state 
of grace" which Luther dedicated to the knight Assa von 
Kram. The latter had also been in the train of the new 
elector of Saxony on his entrance into Wittenberg, and among 
other things, had inquired of Luther, whether a person could, 
with a good conscience, be a military man : and when Luther 
had stated his views, had entreated him, at some future time 
to bring them to paper, and to publish them for the benefit of 
others, that alarmed and weak consciences might be com- 
forted, those in doubt be counselled, and the reckless re- 
claimed. The first time this little book was separately printed 
at Wittenberg, it was arranged, that the names of Dr. Luther 
and of the town of Wittenberg, as well as the preface and 
some few words, were omitted in several of the copies, of 
which one was then transmitted to Duke George of Saxony, 
as if it had come from some distant quarter. Having therefore 
read the book, he was exceedingly well pleased with it, and 
highly praised it, especially to the painter, Lukas the elder, 
who at that time worked for him at Dresden, and to whom he 
said : " Behold, Lukas, thou art always holing up thy monk, 
Luther, at Wittenberg, as being so learned, and as alone being 
able to speak good German and to write good books ; but thou 
art in error here, as well as in some other things. Behold, 
here I also have a little book, which is as good and better 
than your Luther could ever have made it." With these 
words he drew it from his bosom, and threw it to the painter, 
who, having examined it, said : "Gracious prince and lord, it 
was Luther who wrote this little book, only that his name 
does not appear on the title-page, for I also have one here 
with me, which he himself gave me, and upon which his name 
stands printed." The duke having examined it, and finding it 
to be truly Luther's work, became quite enraged with himself on 
account of it, and at last broke forth into imprecations and 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



said : " It is truly to be lamented that so abominable a monk 
should have produced so good a book," &c. 

Authorities.— Let. No. 733, 742, 756, 746, vol. 2, No. 555. 
Writ. A form for the observance of Christian mass, &c, Works, vol. 
22, p. 232. Writ. German mass and order of Worship, ib., p. 241. 
Let. vol. 2, No. 654. Works, vol. 22, p. 283. Writ. Order of the 
common treasury, &c, ib., 251. (Comp. Let. No. 433, 518, 519.) 
Writ. To the Burgomasters and Counsellors, &c, vol. 19, p. 333. Ib., 
p. 563. Let. vol. 3, No. 735. Works as cited. Let. No. 760, 761. 
Works, ib., No. 564. Let. No. 774, No. 784, (ell; Sleid. lib. vi. p. 164,) 
771, 811. Deuteronomium Mose, &c, Opp. Latt. len., t. iii., p. 76, 
(ell. Let. vol. ii. No. 694.) Writ. Explanation of the book of Exodus, &c, 
Works, vol. 3, p. 470. Writ. Explanation of the prophet Habak- 
kuk, vol. 8, p. 462, (ell. vol. 19, p. 532.) Writ. Explanation of the 
four consolatory Psalms, vol. 5, p. 609, (ell. Lett., vol. 3, No. 828.) 
Writ. Whether military men, &c, vol. 22, p. 316. Spangenberg, 
Adelsspiegel, vol. 2, fol. 586, vol. 1, fol. 131. 

Notes. — 1.) This was sensibly felt, for instance, at the interment 
of the elector Frederick. See Seckend., lib. ii., p. 34. 

2. ) Luther's first hymns were : Nun freut euch lieben Christen 
Gemein, &c. Ach Gott vom Himmel sieh darein, &c. Es spricht der 
Unweisen Mund wohl, &c. Aus tiefer Noth schrei ich zu dir, &c 
Concerning the probable chronological order of Luther's hymns, as 
well as concerning the whole subject, compare Rambach, Luther's 
Verdienst um den Kirkengesang, &c. 

3. ) The answer of the King of England, by way of extract in Sleid., 
lib. vi., p. 145. The communication of Duke George in the Works, 
vol. 19, p 361. The latter, though severe and full of misconception 
and mistrust against the evangelical doctrine, is nevertheless manly, as 
Duke George, upon the whole, is advantageously distinguished from the 
other opponents of Luther ; and one cannot repress the thought that 
Luther should from the beginning have been more gentle towards him. 

4. ) The King of England had, in a writing published by him, inter- 
preted Luther's communication as a revocation, at which the latter was 
most of all provoked, and on account of which he, in the year 1527, 
published his book: Against the King of England's slanderous pub- 
lication. (Works, vol. 19, p. 561.) 



CHAPTER VIII. 

A YEAR OF SUFFERING. 1527. 

The year 1527 was a year of intense suffering for Dr. Luther. 
He sincerely sympathized with those who were made to suffer 
on account of the Gospel. Thus, for instance, Leonhard Kaiser, 
(formerly vicar at Waitzenkircheh, who had once before been 
arrested,) after he had spent two years at Wittenberg and had 



834 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



returned home in order to visit his father, who lay ill- beyond 
the hope of recovery, had been cast into prison on account of 
his doctrines. To him, Luther, (on the 20th May, 1527.) wrote 
a letter of consolation, and said, among other things : That he 
was indeed afflicted on his account and was making efforts for 
his release, 1 and prayed that he might again be set free and 
live for the honour of God, and the good of his*fellow-men ; 
Ibut that if this should not be the will of God, then he should, 
being free in the spirit, strive, in firmness and constancy to 
overcome the weakness of the flesh, or at least to bear it 
through the power of Christ, who was with him in his im- 
prisonment, and would sustain him under every trial. And 
when Kaiser had (on the 16th August,) been burnt, Luther 
published a history of him and wrote to Michael Stiefel : "Oh, 
wretched man that I am, how unequal am I to our dear Leon- 
hard Kaiser. I do nothing more than teach and preach the 
Word, speak and write a great deal about it ; but he has 
shown himself a true and faithful doer of this Word. Oh, that 
God would deem me worthy, not of a double portion of the 
spirit of this Leonhard, but only of the half of it, to overcome 
Satan, I would willingly and joyfully yield up this life. Praised 
be God forever, that among so many monsters, He has, in this 
blessed man, granted us unworthy beings so noble a view of 
the splendour of His grace, from which we may surely per- 
ceive that He has not yet wholly forsaken us. Pray for me, 
my dear friend Michael. May Christ our Lord grant us to 
become followers of this our dear Leonhard. His name is not 
only king but properly Kaiser (emperor,) for he is fully worthy 
of the appellation ; since he has overcome him, whose power 
is greater than any on the earth which may be compared to 
it. He is not only a priest but a true bishop, yea, pope, since 
he has thus yielded up his body as a living and holy sacrifice, 
agreeable to God. Therefore he is very proper called Leon- 
hard, that is, Lionheart. For he has shown himself a strong 
and undaunted lion. Both his names were pre-ordained of 
God, he is the first that has fulfilled and confirmed the name of 
his family." 

So Luther also, in the year 1527, issued a writing of conso- 
lation to the Christians at Halle, concerning the death of their 
pastor, M. George Winkler, of Bischofswerda, who had there 
begun to preach the Gospel and to administer the Lord's sup- 
per, in both kinds, but in consequence had been summoned to 



TtiE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



335 



Aschenburg by the Archbishop Albrecht, of Mayence, and was 
assassinated on his journey thither. For he said, that as far as it 
was in his power he would take pains to prevent this murder 
from ever being forgotten, till God, the merciful Father and 
righteous Judge would hear the cry of it as he had heard the 
blood of the holy Abel, and execute justice and vengeance 
upon the murderer and seducer, the old enemy, who had 
wrought this deed. 

But it was sickness especially, which severely afflicted Lu- 
ther during this year. In the beginning of the year he had a 
severe attack, the flow of the blood being suddenly checked in 
the region of the heart, causing him great anxiety, and nearly 
destroying him. But far severer were those spiritual and 
bodily trials, concerning which Dr. John Bugenhagen and Dr. 
Justus Jonas have transmitted a detailed account. " On Satur- 
day before Visitationis Marice" (9th July,) the former writes, 
" Dr. Martin Luther, our dear father, was subjected to a severe 
spiritual trial, similar to those frequently referred to in the 
Psalms. He had before endured many such trials, but none 
so severe as this, as he on the following day declared to Dr. 
Jonas, Dr. Christian and myself, saying: That it had been 
much more severe and dangerous than the bodily weakness, 
which had befallen him on the same Saturday, about five 
o'clock in the evening; although he afterwards intimated, that 
even this bodily weakness had not been natural, but probably 
something like the sufferings which Paul endured, being buffet- 
ed by Satan. 2 Cor. xii. This spiritual trial leaving him early 
on Saturday morning, the pious Job was apprehensive that if 
the hand of God should come upon him so heavily again, he 
would not be able to bear it, and perhaps the apprehension 
was added also, that the time had arrived when our Lord 
Jesus Christ would take him hence, wherefore he, about eight 
o'clock in the forenoon, sent his servant Wolf and desired me 
hastily "to come to him. His employing the word " hastily," 
somewhat affrighted me ; I, however, found the Doctor in his 
customary attitude, standing by the side of his wife, as he was 
able then, with a calm and reserved mind, to commit and to | 
commend everything to God. For he was not accustomed to 
make known his distress in complaints to men, who cannot 
help him, and whom his complaints could not benefit, but he 
was used so to demean himself towards men as those who 
seek comfort of him desire to see him. If he at times was too 



336 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



joyous at table, he himself did not approve of it, and no pious 
person will be displeased, much less take offence at such a 
thing, for he was an affable man and an enemy to ail deceit 
and hypocrisy. But to proceed, I inquired of the Doctor why 
he had caused me to be called ? He replied : For nothing bad. 
We having then proceeded up-stairs and stepped aside to a 
particular place, he, with great earnestness, committed himself 
and all that he had to God, and began to confess and acknow- 
ledge his sins, and the teacher desired of the pupil comfort 
from God's Word and an absolution from all his sins, besides 
exhorting me earnestly to pray for him, which I also desired of 
him. He further desired me to permit him to receive the holy 
sacrament of the body and blood of Christ on the following 
Sunday, for he expected to preach on that Sunday, and was 
not, as far as I could perceive, apprehensive of the fatality 
which befell him in the afternoon ; he nevertheless said : If 
the Lord intends now to call me, his will be done. This and 
other remarks of his affrighted me. When he had confessed, 
and had afterwards spoken of the spiritual trial which he that 
morning had experienced with such terror and trembling that 
he could not express it in words, he continued: Many conceive, 
that because I at times assume a joyful appearance in my out- 
ward deportment, 1 walk upon roses ; but God knows what is 
the true state of the case as regards my life. The world does 
not discover in me any vice with which it can justly reproach 
me ; nevertheless it takes offence at me, and perhaps God de- 
signs to mock the blind, ungrateful world by me, that it perish 
through its contempt, and be not deemed worthy to behold the 
noble gifts which He has refused to many thousand other men, 
but which He well knows and has graciously bestowed upon 
me, that I with them should accomplish good, so that the 
world, because it does not greatly esteem the word of salva- 
tion, which God through me, His weak, insignificant vessel, 
offers to it, might find that in me at which it might take 
offence and full. What the object of God is in such His judg- 
ment, I leave to Him. I daily earnestly pray and call upon 
Him to grant me grace, that I may not, by my sin, give any 
one cause to take offence at me. Such account I, with in- 
terest, heard from him." 

" After we had thus conversed together, it was now nearly 
time to take dinner. And because several of the nobility 
(Marx von Wellefels, John Loser, &c.,) had sent us invitations 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



337 



to dine with them, I besought him to comply with the wish of 
the guests, and by no means to remain absent. He, however, 
refused ; I therefore admonished his wife to induce him to 
come, and not to suffer him to remain at home alone, hoping 
that it would be beneficial to him to be out among men, and 
to converse with them about temporal affairs, &c. He accord- 
ingly came to dinner, ate and drank indeed but very little, of 
which I alone of those at table took notice. He, nevertheless, 
as was his habit, was joyful among the guests, enlivening 
them as much as possible, for he had not yet forgotten the 
great danger in which he shortly before had been. About 
twelve o'clock, however, he arose from the table and went 
into the little garden of Dr. Jonas, which is behind his house. 
Bat I, having to preach at Vespers, returned home." 

" Dinner being over," Doctor Jonas now continuing the nar- 
ration, " he went into my little garden, to free himself from his 
melancholy and sadness, and to divert himself somewhat, sit- 
ting there and conversing with me on various subjects for some 
two hours. And as he stepped out of my house, he requested 
me and my wife to come and sap with him that evening. As 
it was now about five o'clock, we went up to the cloister, when 
the lady of the doctor said: That he had lain down to rest and 
refresh himself, as he had come home weak, and she prayed 
that I should content myself meanwhile, and, if there should be 
a little delay, ascribe it to his weakness. After tarrying some 
time, the doctor arose from his bed, with the intention of sup- 
ping with us, but complained of a great, troublesome, and 
unusual sounding noise in his left ear, (which, physicians say, 
commonly precedes a swoon.). But because this sounding 
noise continually became greater and more violent, he said: 
" That weakness prevented him from remaining at table with 
us, and he therefore again went up into his chamber, in order 
to return to bed. I quickly followed after him alone, (not 
knowing what the lady of the doctor commanded the maids at 
the foot of the stairs, before she came up stairs,) and as he 
stepped over the threshhold of the chamber he fainted, and 
hurriedly said to me : O, Doctor Jonas, I feel sick, quickly 
bring water, or what you have, or I perish. I accordingly, 
quite affrighted, quickly seized a pitcher with cold water, 
which I partly poured into his face, partly into his neck, as 
well as J could. Meanwhile he began to pray: O, my dear 
Lord, if it be thy will, that this shall be the hour which thou 
.22 



338 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



hast appointed for me, may thy gracious will be done. Lift- 
ing up his eyes, he further, with great fervency of spirit, pray- 
ed the Lord's prayer, and the whole of the sixth psalm. In the 
meantime the lady of the doctor came up, and perceiving that 
he was so exceedingly exhausted, and seemingly inanimate, 
she was greatly affrighted, and called aloud to the maids. The 
doctor then desiring that his small-clothes should be taken off, 
I hastily took them off and cast them aside. Whilst he was 
thus lying upon his back, anxious to have some rest, he com- 
plained that he was so exhausted and destitute of strength. 
We rubbed and cooled him, giving him restoratives, and do- 
ing what we could till the physician arrived. Shortly after he 
again began to pray, and to say : O Lord, my most precious 
God, thou knowest how gladly I would have shed my blood for 
the sake of thy Word, but perhaps I am not worthy of it ; thy 
will be done. If it is thy will, I shall willingly die, if thy holy 
name may thereby be praised and magnified, then be it through 
my life or my death ; but gracious God, if it were possible, I 
would wish to live longer for the sake of thy people and elect. 
But if my hour has come, do thou as it seemeth good unto thee, 
thou art Lord over life and death. My most gracious God, 
thou thyself hast caused me to engage in this matter, thou 
knowest that it is thy Word and thy Truth, do not permit thy en- 
emies to exult and to rejoice, and boastingly to ask, where now 
is their God? but magnify thy holy name in opposition to and to 
the vexation of the enemies of thy blessed and wholesome Word. 
My most adorable Lord Jesus Christ, thou hast graciously 
granted me the knowledge of thy holy name, thou knowest that 
I believe in thee, together with the Father and the Holy Ghost, 
thou only and true God, and that my comfort is in thee, our 
Mediator and Saviour, who hast shed thy precious blood for us 
sinners, stand by me in this hour and comfort me with thy Ho- 
ly Spirit. Again he said ; Thou knowest, Lord, that many of 
those to whom thou hast granted it, have shed their blood for 
the sake of the confession of thy Gospel. Thou knowest, Lord, 
that Satan has in various ways assailed me, attempting to de- 
stroy my body through tyrants, kings, princes, &c, and my soul 
through his fiery darts and frightful, devilish temptations. But 
thou hast thus far marvellously sustained me against all their 
rage and raving, sustain me in future, thou faithful Lord, if it 
be thy will. He then also made mention of the bodily physi- 
cian, inquiring whether Dr. Augustine would soon arrive? 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



339 



We replied, that he would, and shortly afterwards he came ; 
he placed upon him warm pillows, cloths, and other articles 
serviceable for the purpose, and comforting him, encouraged 
him to hope, that, by the help of God, there would be no dan- 
ger this time. Meanwhile Dr. Pommeranus, the pastor of the 
church at Wittenberg, to whom the doctor had early that day 
confessed, also arrived." 

The latter now relates : " I did not at the time know in what 
state the doctor was, and being called to him, about six o'clock 
in the evening, when I found him lying in bed, and heard him 
in distinct language, sometimes in Latin, sometimes in Ger- 
man, calling now upon God the Father, then upon the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and especially, with great earnestness, commit- 
ting to God the office of the Holy Gospel, which he had so far 
confided to him. I have not been worthy, said he further, to 
have shed my blood for the sake of Christ, as many among my 
brethren have done for the sake of the confession of the Holy 
Gospel. But this honour was not granted to St. John the Evan- 
gelist, who certainly wrote a much severer book, (this was the 
language he employed.) against the papacy, than I ever shall 
or can write. But as I stood before him, greatly terrified in 
the distress of my soul, I finally addressed him thus : Dear doc- 
tor, do you also pray with us, that you remain longer with us, 
for the comfort of us wretched people, and of many others. 
He replied : As to my own person, to die would be gain ; but 
to abide longer in the flesh would be necessary for the sake of 
many. Dear God, thy will be done. He then turned himself 
towards me and Dr. Jonas, and said : Because the world de- 
lights in falsehood, many will say that I retracted my doctrine 
before my death ; I therefore earnestly desire you to be wit- 
nesses of my faith and confession. I say, with a good con- 
science, that I have taught the truth from God's Word, accord- 
ing to the command of God, to which he also, without my wish, 
drew and constrained me; yes, I say, I have taught rightly 
and wholesomely concerning faith, the cross, the sacraments, 
and other articles of Christian doctrine. Many accuse me of 
being too unsparing and severe when I write against the pa- 
pists, sectarians, &c, rebuking their false doctrine, ungodly 
life, and hypocrisy. I have, indeed, at times, been severe, and 
sharply assailed my adversaries ; yet, so as never to have re- 
pented of it. Whether now I am severe or moderate, I have 
not sought the injury of any, much less the loss of a soul, but 



340 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



rather the good and the salvation of every one. even ot my 
enemies. I had proposed to myself to treat of and write con- 
cerning the holy baptism of Christ, also against Zwinglius, and 
other sacramentarian fanatics ; but it seems a gracious God 
has determined differently concerning me. He then, with 
great earnestness, spoke to us against the sacramentarian fa- 
natics, and lamented, with tears, that so many factions and 
sects had now arisen, who would falsify and pervert God's 
Word, and not spare the flock, which he has purchased with 
his blood. A gracious God, said he, has conferred upon me, 
unworthy being, many noble gifts, which to many thousand 
other men he has refused, and which I would willingly longer 
use for his honour, as well as for the advantage and comfort of 
the pious, if it were his will. But you will be unequal to the 
task of meeting so many fanatics who are now everywhere 
creeping in ; yet I comfort myself with the thought, that Christ 
is stronger than the pernicious Satan, (with all his advocates,) 
yea. he is a powerful Lord." 

4i But when the swoon again increased somewhat," continu- 
ed Dr. Jonas in his report, " he, in his prayer, repeated com- 
forting words and passages from the holy Scriptures, which 
he spoke from a fervent heart and a firm faith, and an unwa- 
vering reliance upon God's mercy, shown us in Christ Jesus. 
My most adorable God, (said he.) thou surely art a God of the 
sinner and the wretched, who feels his anguish, need, and dis- 
tress, and earnestly seeks the comfort and the aid of thy grace ; 
as thou sayest: Come hither to me all ye that are weary and 
heavy Laden, and I will give you rest. Lord. 1 come, relying 
upon thy promise, I am in great anguish and need, help me, 
for the sake of thy grace and faithfulness. Amen. 

Xot long afterwards he said to his wife : My dearest Kate, 
I pray thee, if our dear God takes me hence this time, to resign 
thyself to his gracious will ; thou art my lawful wife, of this 
be fully persuaded, and have no doubt of it, let the blind and 
ungodly world say in opposition what it may, do thou guide 
thyself by God's Word, and cling firmly to it, then wilt thou 
have a sure and enduring comfort against the devil and all his 
blaspheming emissaries. Soon he again began to pray: O, 
my dear Lord Jesus Christ, thou hast said : Pray, and ye shall 
receive, seek, and ye shall find, knock, and it shall be opened 
unto you ; according to this promise, Lord, give me, who pray, 
not gold or silver, but a strong, firm faith, let me, who seek. 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION 



341 



find, not the pleasure or joys of the world, but comfort and re- 
freshing, through thy blessed, wholesome Word ; open unto 
me, who knock, I desire nothing of what the world calls great 
and high, for before thee, it does not profit me the breadth of a 
hair ; but give me thy holy Spirit, to enlighten my heart, to 
strengthen and comfort me in my anguish and distress, and 
to preserve me in the right faith and reliance upon thy grace 
to my end. Amen." 

"Whilst warm cloths and pillows were placed upon him to 
restore warmth to his cold body, he inquired after his little 
son: Where is my dearest John ? The child being brought, it 
smiled to the father, who said : O, thou good, poor little child, 
I now commend my dearest Kate and thee, poor little orphan, 
to my dear, faithful God ; you have nothing : but God, who is 
a father of orphans, and a judge of widows, will, without fail, 
sustain you and provide for you. He then further spoke to his 
wife concerning the silver cups : excepting which thou know- 
est we have nothing else. At this and other discourses of Lu- 
ther, the lady of the doctor became quite terrified and sad ; 
she, however, concealed the great distress which she experi- 
enced at seeing her dear husband lying before her in so lamen- 
table a condition, and assuming confidence, she said : My 
dearest doctor, if it is the will of God, I would rather know you 
with our dear Lord God than with me, it is not alone I and 
my child, but many pious Christian people, who yet need you. 
I pray you, my dearest, not to be concerned on my account, I 
commend you to His divine will ; I hope and trust to God, he 
will yet graciously preserve you. 

" Whilst they were thus rubbing the doctor with warm 
cloths, and placing warm pillows upon his breast, and around 
his feet, he said : 1 1 feel better ; thank God, the swoon is pass- 
ing off, and strength is gradually returning ; if I could only 
perspire, I trust there would be no danger this time.' Then 
Dr. Augustine said: 1 Let us leave, and suffer him to remain 
alone, perhaps he may perspire and rest.' We accordingly bid 
him good night, and in God's name departed from him, com- 
manding those that remained with him to keep quiet, &c." 

" When we visited him the next day," Bugenhagen says, 
M we found that the physician had judged correctly, only that 
the patient yet kept his bed on Sunday, and said, that ' he was 
still not wholly free from that excessive sounding noise in his 
head.' In the evening of that day, however, he arose and 



342 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



supped with us, being perfectly restored again, praise and 
thanks be to Christ." But to Dr. Jonas he observed : " Jonas, 
yesterday I must note ; it was a day of severe sundering and 
trial to me. The Lord conducts into hell and out again. The 
Lord killeth and maketh alive. For he is Lord over death and 
life. To him be praise, honour, and adoration, for ever. 
Amen." 

But it was not ended yet : through the whole of that year 
Luther was subject to the severest trials, concerning which he 
complains in all his letters to his friends, commending himself 
to their prayers. " It is now nearly three months that I am 
afflicted," he wrote on the 8th October, to Michael Stiefel, 
" not so much in body as in spirit, so that I have written little 
or nothing at all, so severely has Satan winnowed me. Pray 
the Lord for me, that he may strengthen me, as he also does." 
So likewise to Melanchthon, who was absent at that time (see 
the fol. p.) : " Pray for me, poor forsaken worm, who am wo- 
fully tormented by a spirit of sadness, according to the holy 
will of the Father of mercy, to whom be the praise also in my 
distress. My only glory is this, that I have taught God's Word 
in its purity, and have neither from a desire of praise, nor from 
avarice, ever falsified it. I trust that he who has begun to be 
merciful, will continue to be so to the end, for I seek nothing 
but a gracious God. Greet all the brethren, and commend me 
to their prayers." And to Amsdorf, on the 1st November: 
" As it pleases God, so it happens, my dear Amsdorf, that I, 
who have hitherto been accustomed to comfort everybody, am 
in need of the greatest comfort myself. This one thing I pray, 
and do thou pray with me, that Christ may do with me what 
pleases him, and that he may preserve me from becoming un- 
grateful or his enemy, who have hitherto with so much zeal 
and diligence preached him, even though otherwise also 
through many and great sins offended him. Satan desires to 
have a new Job given him in me, and a Peter whom he may 
sift, together with the brethren. But may Christ in mercy say 
to him : Spare his life ! and to me : I am thy salvation ! as I 
still hope that he will not be angry with me for ever on ac- 
count of my sins. I would like to reply to the Sacramenta- 
rians, but if I do not become stronger in the spirit I cannot do 
so." Melanchthon, who in November met Luther at Torgau, 
in reference to a dispute with Agricola. 2 was quite amazed at 
the latter's trials, and wished to spare him in every possible 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



343 



way. These trials had not yet ceased even at the close of the 
year : they were indeed somewhat more moderate, but at times 
returned with greater violence* 

To this must be added a pestilence, which during this year 
raged at Wittenberg, and in consequence of which the uni- 
versity, at the command of the elector, was transferred to 
Jena. The elector, under date of the 10th August, had also 
caused Luther to be admonished to betake himself to Jena, 
with his wife and children, as the rest had done ; but he, to- 
gether with Dr. Pomeranus and the deacons, alone remained at 
Wittenberg : " and yet not alone," he wrote to a friend, " Christ 
and your prayer, and the prayer of all the saints are, together 
with the holy angels, invisibly, yet mightily present with us." 
During this time he also wrote " An answer to the question : 
Whether one may flee from death ?" to Dr. John Hess, pastor at 
Breslau, and to his colleagues. In it he firstly lauds those who 
have so strong a faith as not greatly to fear death, and who 
willingly submit to the rod of God, as far as this can be done 
without tempting God ; but that because the strong were few, 
and the weak many, the same burden could not be imposed 
upon all. That no one durst flee in opposition to God's Word 
and command ; that preachers and pastors were in duty bound 
to remain at their posts *in cases of death, since the spiritual 
office was most of all needed here, unless there should be so 
many preachers at one place, that some might betake them- 
selves away, and the office be still sufficiently supplied. That 
those in temporal offices were just as much required to remain, 
and not to leave the community without superiors and govern- 
ment, or else adequately to supply their places, that the com- 
monwealth might be well provided for. And that the same 
was applicable to all other persons who were obligated to one 
another by service and duty ; yea, that one neighbour could 
not flee from the other, unless there were others present to take 
charge of the sick, since in such cases the declaration of Christ 
was to be dreaded : I was sick, and you visited me not, &c. ; 
but that where such need did not exist, it was optional either 
to flee or to remain. " If any one is so bold and strong in the 
faith," says he, " let him remain in the name of God, he sure- 
ly does not commit sin by it. But if any one is weak and, 
timid, let him flee in the name of God, since he does not do so 
to the neglect of his duty towards his neighbour ; for God has 
implanted it in our nature, that we flee death and save our 



344 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



life, and lie has not forbidden it when it is not against God and 
against our neighbour, as St. Paul says, Ephes. 5, " No one 
hateth his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it." Hav- 
ing then adduced various examples from the Holy Scriptures, 
he from them draws the conclusion: " We are to pray against 
all manner of evil, and guard ourselves against it as w T ell as 
we can, only we should not in any way act against God, as 
above observed. If God is resolved to overwhelm and to de- 
stroy us, our cautkm will avail nothing, so that the heart of 
every one must be thus disposed. Firstly, he is under obliga- 
tion to serve his neighbour in case of death, therefore let him 
commit himself to God, and say : Lord, I am in thy hand, thou 
hast placed me here ; thy will be done, for I am thy poor crea- 
ture, thou canst destroy or preserve me in this case as well as 
if I were placed in fire, water, miasms, or other dangers. But 
if he is at liberty, and can flee, then let him again commit 
himself, and say : " Lord God, I am wea,k and timid, therefore 
I flee the evil, and do what I can to guard against it ; but, 
nevertheless, I am at thy disposal in this and all other evils 
that may befall me, thy will be done, for my flight will not 
avail anything of itself, since nothing but evil and misfortune 
are everywhere, for Satan is not idle and does not slumber, he 
is a murderer from the beginning, and is at all times intent 
upon nothing but murder and distress. 

He then further exhorts all to make provisions for the sick, 
counsels those that remain how they are to prepare and to 
comfort themselves, shows those who visit and nurse the sick 
how they are to console themselves with the favour of God 
and his promises, but also rebukes the presumption of those 
who neglect all means by which they are to counteract death 
or the pestilence, refuse to take medicine, &c, pretending in 
this way to evince their joyful confidence, and saying that it 
is the punishment of God ; if he wished to preserve them, he 
could well do so without any medicine or effort on our part. 
That this w T as not relying upon God, but tempting God, since 
God had created the medicine, and given reason to superintend 
the body and to nurse it, that it might be healthy and live. In 
an appendix he then yet gives an instruction : " How in times 
of great mortality men are to be prepared also as regards their 
souls." 

At Wittenberg the pestilence was tolerably mild in its ef- 
fects, but the fear of the people was excessive. In November, 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



345 



Luther himself had his house full of sick. He wrote to Ams- 
dorf in reference to this : " My house has begun to be a hos- 
pital ; Hannah, Dr. Augustine's wife, bore the pestilence about 
with her, but she is able to be up again. Margaret Mochina 
caused us fear by a suspicious bile, and other indications, al- 
though she is in health again. With regard to my Kate, I am 
very much concerned, since she is near her accouchement. 
My little son also has been sick for three days already, does 
not take any food, and feels himself ill ; it is said that teeth- 
ing is the cause, and it is supposed that both are in great dan- 
ger. May the Lord Jesus graciously assist us ! Thus there 
are contests without and fears within, and these violent enough 
truly. Christ visits us. The only consolation which we op- 
pose to the rage of Satan is, that we have God's Word to res- 
cue the souls, even if he swallows up the body. Therefore 
commend us to the prayer of the brethren, and to thy own, 
that we may with constancy endure the hand of the Lord, and 
overcome the power and craft of Satan, whether through 
death or life. Amen. At Wittenberg, on the day of All- 
Saints, in the tenth year after indulgences had been assailed, 
in memory of which we have this hour celebrated the day, 
comforted on both sides." Many a letter of lamentation was 
Luther constrained to write to his absent friends ; but on the 
10th December, he could inform Dr. Jonas that Kate had pre- 
sented him with a little daughter, and that his three patients 
had recovered, " We have given five animals for those," ad- 
ded he, " which we have lost. Christ, our consolation, grant 
that the pestilence may be satisfied with this contribution. I 
myself am, as I have been heretofore, namely, like the Apostle, 
as dying, and behold I live." On the 28th December, finally 
he could inform his friend, that he might now return, that the 
pestilence was gone ; the citizens, who had fled, were return- 
ing in crowds ; that on the following day the magistrates would 
return, and the university also would shortly again be there, 
as Philip wrote. "God," added he, "has in a great and won- 
derful manner visited us with his mercy, and thus has demon- 
strated that our preaching of the Gospel is acceptable unto 
him, although we are sinners." 

Authorities. — Works, vol. 19, p. 561 and 581. Let. No. 875, 
908. Works, vol. 19, p. 567, (ell. ib. p. 560.) Let. No. 845. Works, " 
vol. 22, p. 498. Let. No. 901, 909, 910. Mel. Epp. T. I. No. 486, 
487. Let. No. 936. Seckend. lib. II., p. 85, 86. Let. No. 891, 



346 



TBE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATIO'. 



Writ. Answer to the question, 6cc, Works, vol. 22, p. 331. Let. No. 
859, 927, 933. 

Notes. — 1.) The elector of Saxony fat Luther's request, it seems) 
interceded for Kaiser with the bishop of Passau. Works, vol. 19, p. 
554. 590. 

2.) It was the first beginning of the antinornistical dispute after- 
wards occasioned bv Agricola. Cornp. let, No. 909. 927. and Mel. 
Epp. T. I. No. 456. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE WORK OF VISITATION - AXD THE CATECHISMS. 

Already in the year 1525. (on the 31st October.) Luther com- 
plained to the new elector: that the state of things in the 
parishes was a very sad one everywhere, since no one con- 
tributed to the same. That the contributions for saying mass 
had been abolished, rents there were either none at all or too 
few : the common people, moreover, did not respect either 
preacher or pastor, so that if good regulations and adequate 
support of the parishes and pulpits were not provided by the 
elector, neither parsonages nor schools would in a short time 
be of any account, and thus God's Word and service would 
fall into utter neglect. That the elector should, after having 
regulated matters with regard to the university, exert himself 
further as an instrument for the Almighty. That means could 
be obtained. That there were cloisters, endowed institutions, 
fiefs, stipends, and the like things enough, if the elector would 
only give orders to investigate, calculate, and regulate mat- 
ters. That God would also add his blessing and increase. 
Luther further, at the electors request, gave his opinion as to 
how the matter should be prosecuted. 

In the following year, (on the 22d November.) Luther again 
wrote to the elector, that the complaints of the pastors nearly 
everywhere were excessive, since the peasants were wholly 
unwilling to render any contributions, and that there existed 
among the people such ingratitude towards God's Word, that 
some great calamity was undoubtedly in store for them with 
God. That since the excommunication of the pope had been 
abolished, there was no longer any fear or discipline, and 
everv person did what he saw proper. That it was enjoined 



t 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 34*7 

upon the government, however, to educate the poor youth, to 
train them up in the fear and admonition of God, and that for 
this purpose there were needed schools and preachers. That 
if the parents would not comply, they might have their will 
and perish ; but if the youth were suffered to grow up unedu- 
cated, it would fall to the charge of the government, and the 
land would be filled with wild and rude people, so that not 
only the commandment of God, but even our common inter- 
ests, required us to prevent this. " But now," continued he, 
"that papal and spiritual compulsion and regulations have 
been abolished in the principality of your electoral grace, and 
all the cloisters and endowed institutions come into the pos- 
session of your electoral grace, as being chief ruler, you at 
the same time with them have devolving upon you the duty 
and obligation of regulating affairs with regard to them, for 
no one else takes the matter in hand, even if they could. 
Therefore, after deliberating upon the whole subject with the 
chancellor of your electoral grace, and his honour Nicholas, I 
conceive it necessary that your electoral grace, who is re- 
quired by God to exercise the supervision in this case, should 
as speedily as possible despatch through the country four men, 
two conversant with rents and property, two with investitures 
and persons, that they may, upon the authority of your elec- 
toral grace, cause schools and parishes to be established and 
provided for, wherever it is necessary. Where there are towns 
and villages which have the ability, your electoral grace has 
the power to compel them to maintain schools, pulpits, and 
parishes. If they will not do it from a consideration for their 
salvation, then your electoral grace, as highest guardian of the 
youth, and all others needing supervision, is to compel them 
to do so, just as they are compelled to render contributions and 
services towards bridges, paths, and roads, or other matters 
pertaining to the public interest. Those that enjoy the privi 
leges of a country, are to contribute towards everything that 
the common interests of the country require. Now, there is 
nothing more necessary than to educate men who are to suc- 
ceed us and to govern. But if the ability be wanting, and 
there are too many burdens already, then the property of the 
cloisters, which were established for this very purpose, can 
still be employed for this object, in order as much as possible 
to spare the common people. For your electoral grace can 
readily imagine that it will finally cause evil reports, and 



34S THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 

would be inexcusable, if the schools and parishes were neg- 
lected, and the nobility permitted to take possession of the 
property of the cloisters, as it is asserted that some are doing 
already. Because, therefore, such property does not in any 
way benefit the treasury of your electoral grace, and, more- 
over, has been designed for the service of God, as it is justly 
to be applied to this first. Whatever afterwards remains, 
your electoral grace can employ for the interests of the coun- 
try, or the poor." 

The seizure of the property of the cloisters greatly grieved 
Luther, so that he could not rest satisfied with merely writing, 
but, on the elector being at Wittenberg, he, regardless of all 
remonstrance, pressed into the cabinet of the elector, in order 
to converse with him alone on the subject, (none but Riedesel 
being present,) thus unexpectedly soliciting the prince, and 
giving him a full statement of the case, he having previously 
before the door complained of the matter to the electoral heir, 
and the latter having expressed his great dissatisfaction with 
it. He received as answer, that care should be taken to have 
all things conducted properly. But he feared that, regardless 
of the excellent prince, they would put him off with fair 
speeches, and said that it exceedingly vexed him to behold 
men, who under the elector Frederick had always been inimi- 
cal to the Gospel, now that an opportunity offered to obtain 
rich booty, laughing in their sleeves, that under the appear- 
ance of the Gospel they could be the worst enemies of the 
same, and yet enjoy all its privileges. That he knew of no 
other method but in a public writing to warn the prince, be- 
sieged as he was on all sides. That the same, being an up- 
right man, was exposed to every species of cunning, since he 
conceived all to be like himself, honest and true. 

The visitation, nevertheless, began, and in July Melanchthon 
set out on a mission in this work. The " Instruction of the vi- 
sitors to the pastors in the electorate of Saxony" drawn up by 
Melanchthon, Luther and Dr. Pomeranus examined, but 
changed little in it. Luther wrote : 11 For the whole of it 
pleases us quite well, since it is drawn up in the most popular 
and simple style. That the opponents, however, boast, as if we 
were again retracing our steps, is not to be much regarded ; it 
will all subside again. He that undertakes any godly work 
must leave Satan the liberty to speak all manner of evil against 
it, as I have been constrained to permit him heretofore." He, 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION". 



349 



however, at the instance of the elector, wrote a preface to this 
instruction and published them together, "in order to let it be 
seen, that we do not manage our affairs in a corner or in the 
dark, but joyfully and confidently seek the light, and are wil- 
ling to endure it." In this preface he appeals to both the Old 
and the New Testament, to show what a godly, wholesome 
work it is, to have the pastors and Christian congregations vi- 
sited by intelligent and able men, says, that the ancient fathers, 
also the bishops, had diligently observed this ; yea, that from 
this practice the bishops and archbishops had originally sprung ; 
and complains, that these, after the episcopal office had become 
invested with temporal power and splendour, had committed 
such office of visitation to a provost, vicar, or dean ; and these 
again, having also become indolent, squires, to the officials ; 
who, likewise preferring their warm rooms at home, had sent 
some villain or knave, who had run about in the country and 
the towns, and had reported, what he had gathered up in the 
taverns, to the official, who then exercising his office of flayer, 
had flayed and exacted money even from the innocent. How 
to teach, believe, love, lead a Christian life, supply the poor, 
comfort the weak, rebuke the rude, and what else belongs to 
such office, had never been thought of. This genuine episco- 
pal office of visitation, continues he, he would, on account of 
the utility and need of it in Christendom, gladly have seen re- 
established at this time, in which the Gospel, through the grace 
of God, had become known again ; but as none of them had 
received commission or command for this purpose, no one had 
been authorized to undertake it, in preference to the other. 
That he had, therefore, entreated his gracious lord, that he 
might, from Christian love, as he was not obligated to do so as 
temporal ruler, appoint and commission several suitable men 
for such office. That the same had done this, and now may 
God grant, that it might become a blessed example, for useful 
imitation, to all other German princes, which Christ would also 
richly requite in the end. That these rules of visitation, how- 
ever, were not published as a command, since the object was 
not to give new papal decretals, but a historical statement, as 
well as a testimony and confession of faith ; that it was never- 
theless hoped, that all pious and peaceful pastors, who receiv- 
ed the Gospel, would willingly, without compulsion, in obedi- 
ence to the dictates of love, submit to such visitation. But 
that if obstinate persons, without just cause, opposed this, they 



350 THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 

should be permitted to separate themselves as chaff from the 
wheat, that in such a case, however, the advice and aid of the 
gracious ruler would be sought : for that, although he was not 
commanded to teach and to exercise authority in spiritual af- 
fairs, he was, nevertheless, required, as a temporal ruler, to 
endeavour to prevent dissension, faction and insurrection from 
arising among his subjects. 

In November, 1528, Luther himself took part in the visita- 
tion. To him were assigned the electorate of Saxony proper 
and the districts of Meissen, which were subject to electoral 
Saxony, and Dr. Jonas and Dr. Pomeranus were to supply his 
place, if he should be prevented. In his letters from this time 
he complains : " We everywhere find poverty and want ; may 
the Lord send labourers into his hardest ! " Further : " Our 
visitation progresses: Alas, what wretchedness do we wit- 
ness ! " And : " On our visitation in the Wittenberg district, 
we have found all the pastors and their peasants still living 
at peace with each other, but the people indifferent to the 
Word and the sacrament." Mathesius relates : " Dr. Luther 
also permitted himself to be employed in this wholesome and 
episcopal work, examining the poor peasants with regard to 
prayer, and with great kindness and patience questioning them 
on the catechism and instructing them ; in reference to which 
I have heard a pleasing anecdote concerning him. A poor 
Saxon peasant, namely, being desired to repeat the creed in 
his own language, and saying : 1 believe in God Almighty, the 
Doctor asked him what Almighty meant. The good man said : 
I do not know. Yes, my good man, said the Doctor, I and all 
the learned, are equally ignorant of what the almighty power 
of God is. But do thou firmly believe that God is thy loving 
and faithful father, who will and can, and as the wisest Lord 
knows how to help thy wife and thy children in all cases 
of need?" 

The distress and wretchedness which Luther had witnessed 
on his visitation, had constrained him, in the year 1529, to 
publish his two catechisms. "Alas," said he, in the preface to 
the " Enchiridion or smaller catechism for ordinary pastors or 
preachers " " what a sad state of things have I witnessed ! The 
common people, especially in the villages, are so utterly igno- 
rant of the Christian doctrine, and even many pastors quite un- 
prepared and unqualified to teach, who yet all are called Chris- 
tians, are baptized and partake of the holy sacrament, know 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION". 



351 



neither the Lord's prayer, nor the creed, nor the ten command- 
ments, live and act like the brutes and irrational beasts, and 
now that the precious Gospel has again appeared, have, never- 
theless, well learned admirably to abuse all freedom. O you 
bishops, how will you ever answer Christ for having so 
shamefully neglected the people, and not for one moment ex- 
ercised your office that you might escape all evil ? you enjoin 
the sacrament in one kind, and insist upon your human tradi- 
tions, but do not, meanwhile, concern yourselves whether they 
know the Lord's prayer, the creed, the ten commandments, or 
aught of the Word of God. Alas, eternal wo will be your por- 
tion. Therefore I pray you all, my dear friends and brethren, 
who are pastors or preachers, for God's sake, faithfully to dis- 
charge the duties of your office, and to commiserate j^our peo- 
ple who are committed to you, and to aid us in making them, 
especially the youth, acquainted with the catechism, and let 
those who cannot do better, take these tables and forms and 
dictate them to the people word for word." 

In the first place he advises the preacher, above all things, 
to avoid employing a variety of texts and forms of the ten com- 
mandments, the Lord's prayer, &c. ; and to take up one form, 
and always make use of that. " When you preach to the 
learned and the intelligent," says he, "you may exhibit your 
skill and adorn and turn these matters as variously and as 
skilfully as you can ; but with the youth, continue in a cer- 
tain, unchangeable form and mode, and teach them, in the first 
place, these points, the ten commandments, the creed, the 
Lord's prayer, &c, according to the text, word for word, that 
they may be able also to repeat it thus from memory. But let 
those who refuse to learn be assured, that they deny Christ and 
are not Christians, and let them not be admitted to the sacra- 
ment nor become sponsors at baptism, or enjoy other Christian 
privileges ; but suffer them to be delivered to the pope and his 
officials, yea, to the devil himself; further, let their parents 
and superiors refuse them food and drink, and inform them 
that the prince is resolved to drive such rude people from the 
country, &c. For although we cannot and should not compel 
any one to believe, the mass is still to be constrained to learn 
what isf right and wrong among those with whom they wish 
to dwell and to gain their livelihood; for he that wishes to 
dwell in a city, must learn and observe the laws of the city, 



352 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



the privileges of which he wishes to enjoy, whether now he 
believe or in his heart be a villain and a knave." 

" In the second place, when they have well learned the text, 
then afterwards also teach them to understand it, that they 
may know what it means, and again adopt the form of these 
tables or any other short invariable form which you prefer, and 
continue in it without changing a single syllable, as has just 
been said of the text, and take your time to it ; for it is not 
necessary to take up everything at once, but one thing after 
the other. After they thoroughly understand the first com- 
mandment, then take up the second, and thus proceed ; other- 
wise they will be overloaded and not retain any." 

"In the third place, when you have thus made them ac- 
quainted with the smaller catechism, then take up the larger 
one, and afford ihem further and more abundant instruction, 
• thoroughly explaining each commandment, petition and point, 
with its various works, uses, advantages, dangers and injuries, 
as you will find all this in abundauce in so many books on the 
subject. And especially inculcate that commandment or point 
most of all, which is especially needed among your peo- 
ple," &c. 

Finally, he says : That since the tyranny of the pope was 
now abolished, the people were no longer disposed to come to 
the sacrament, wherefore he gives this direction: " We are to 
compel no one to believe or to partake of the sacrament, nor 
to fix the time and place, but are so to preach that they may 
come of themselves without our compulsion-" "Behold," says 
he in conclusion, "ye pastors and preachers, our office has now 
become a different thing ; therefore it now brings with it much 
more trouble and labour, danger and trial, but little reward 
and gratitude from the world. But Christ himself designs to 
be our reward if we labour faithfully. This may the Father 
of all grace grant to us, to Him be praise and gratitude for- 
ever, through Christ our Lord. Amen." 

In a later preface to the larger catechism he speaks against 
the contempt of the catechism, and says : " But this I say for 
myself, I also am a Doctor and a preacher, yea, as learned and 
experienced as any of those may be, who are so presumptuous 
and secure; yet I proceed as a child which learns the cate- 
chism, and read in the morning and when I have time, also 
repeat, word for word, the ten commandments, the creed, the 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



353 



Lord's prayer, the Psalms, &c. And though I daily, in addi- 
tion to this, read and study, I can still not maintain the stand 
which I would like to maintain, and must remain a child and 
a pupil of the catechism, and do so willingly. But these deli- 
cate, fastidious gentlemen, after one perusal, instantly presume 
to be doctors above all doctors, to know everything, and to 
have no further need of anything. Well, this is a certain evi- 
dence that they despise both their office and the souls of the 
people, yea, God himself and His Word, they having no need 
to fall, for they have fallen too sadly already, and would well 
need to become children and to make a beginning by learning 
the alphabet, which they think long since to have forgotten." 
He then extols the various advantages and fruits which result 
from the catechism, Ci when it is daily read, reflected, and 
spoken upon, namely, that the Holy Spirit is present in such 
reading, reflection and speaking, and continually adds fresh 
and new light, so that it is daily relished more and more as 
Christ also promises, Matt, xviii. : Where two or three are as- 
sembled in my name, there I am in the midst of them. It, more- 
over, is so efficient an aid against the devil, the world, the 
flesh, and all evil thoughts, when God's Word is observed, 
spoken and thought of, that the first Psalm also praises those 
happy who day and night are engaged with the law of God." 

..." And if this were not a sufficient inducement daily to 
read the catechism, God's command of itself should sufficiently 
constrain us, who, Deut. vi., solemnly commands us, whether 
we sit, stand, walk, lie, or arise, always to remember His 
Word, and to keep it for a continual sign before our eyes and 
in our minds." "Therefore," says he in conclusion, "I again 
pray all Christians, especially pastors and preachers, not to 
become doctors too fast, neither to imagine themselves to 
know everything, (extended and stretched cloth shrinks great- 
ly,) but daily faithfully to exercise, and unremittingly to apply 
themselves here, guarding with all care and diligence against 
the poisonous infection of such secure and dangerous spirits, 
and to continue constant in reading, teaching, learning, reflect- 
ing and judging, not ceasing from this till they to a certainty 
learn, that they have killed Satan by their teaching, and have 
become more learned, if it were possible, than God himself and 
all His saints. If they thus diligently apply themselves, I will 
promise them, and they shall experience it also, what advan- 
tages they will derive from it and what upright people God 

23 



354 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION 



will make of them, so that they themselves will have to ac- 
knowledge at last, that the longer and the more diligently 
they study the catechism, the less they know of it, and the 
more need they have to learn it ; and not till then will they, as 
hungry and thirsty men, relish what now, from great fulness 
and satiety, they cannot endure. God in mercy grant this. 
Amen." 

Authorities. — Let. No. 750, 757, 838, 885, 906. Instruction of 
the visitors, &c, Works, vol. 19, p. 632. Seek. lib. II., p. 101. Let. 
No. 1046, 1047, 1049. Mathes, 6 Pred. The Catechisms, Works, 
vol. 22, p. 42 and 51. 

CHAPTER X. 

THE DISPUTE CONCERNING THE SACEAMENT, AND THE MARBURG 
CONFERENCE. 

The erroneous doctrine which Karlstadt 1 first taught concern- 
ing the Lord's Supper, spread extensively, and found many 
supporters, for also Zwinglius, (Ecolampadius, Krautwald, and 
Caspar Schwenkfeld adopted this view, and published several 
books in its defence. Others wrote in opposition to it, espe- 
cially the Suabian theologians, of whom John Brentius, Er- 
hard Schnepfius, John Isemannus, and others, some fourteen in 
number, assembled at Halle, in Suabia, where they wrote and 
published a noble book against CEcolampadius, (the Syngram- 
ma Suevicum,) in which the pure Christian doctrine concerning 
the Lord's Supper is vigorously sustained. 

The preachers at Strasburg had despatched Professor George 
Chaselius to Luther, and prayed him not to mingle in this 
dispute, but to draw the congregations away from this ques- 
tion, as this matter might cause great disturbance. He (on 
the 5th November) replied to them : That they should well 
take to heart this apprehension as a warning of the Spirit ; 
that he desired nothing more than peace ; that he had not 
begun this sad dispute, but had been constrained by necessity 
to reply ; that it was not allowable to observe silence always, 
whilst Zwinglius and CEcolampadius were exciting men by 
means of their books, unless it were desired of him that he 
should desist from discharging his duties as preacher and 
pastor. " It is insufferable," continues he, " that we are to 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



355 



observe silence always, whilst they speak, and that we are 
to yield to them, whilst they confuse our congregations and 
diminish our influence. That we should refrain from reviling, 
is just ; but how can we reply or oppose, if we are not per- 
mitted to condemn, or if condemning is forthwith to be inter- 
preted as reviling ? But is not this reviling, that these modest 
men denominate us devourers of flesh, and in their books 
accuse us of worshipping an eatable and breaden God, and 
of denying the salvation wrought out on the cross ? It is bad 
advice, to draw believers from this question of the presence 
of the body and blood, and to exercise them only in the Word 
and faith. We have no Word and no faith, without the thing 
upon which they are based, since in the words themselves, the 
question concerning the presence of the body and blood is 
embraced. Neither can the multitude be drawn away from it 
now, after the opponents have published so many books : they 
ought to have observed silence before ; now they desire silence 
too late." 

At first Luther, being burdened with writing and business, 
could not prepare a book of his own, published the Syngramma 
of the Suabian preachers, in Latin and German, with a pre- 
face, in order to declare his faith, and faithfully to advise all 
who would take warning, to be on their guard against this 
false prophet. He ridicules this sect, "for within one year 
gaining," as he says, " five or six heads. The first was Dr. 
Karlstadt. with his Tovro. The second, Ulric Zwinglius, with 
his Significat. The third is John (Ecolampadius, with his Fi- 
gura Corporis. The fourth subverts the order of the text. 
The fifth is coming, who transposes the words. The sixth is 
not yet rally born, and casts the words as dice. The seventh, 
perhaps, will also come, and mix the cards. Every one wants 
to be master here." That their image was to be looked for 
among the animals of the Apocalypse, who have one body 
and many heads : that each sect had its own heads, and its 
own way of stating its reasons and arguments ; that all, how- 
ever, aimed at blaspheming the one Christian truth. Having 
then further spoken of the weakness of their arguments, and 
of the fleeting and hovering nature of their spirit, which abode 
upon no point, lest it might be detected in its falsehoods, he 
draws this conclusion : " I therefore declare my opinion, al- 
though it highly displeases them, I nevertheless know it to be 
true. I know faith and Satan well in this case. There are 



856 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION, 



two grounds of their error. The one is, that it is unpalatable 
to reason, the other, that it is unnecessary, that the body and 
blood of Christ should be in the bread and wine, that is : ab- 
surditas et nulla necessitas. Upon these two points they have 
seized, and the temptation of Satan has caused said points to 
enter into them, like oil enters into the bones, Ps. 109. Hav- 
ing now placed such coloured goggles before their eyes, they 
come running to the Scriptures, seeking how they may intro- 
duce their own ideas into them, and contort the Scriptures to 
favour their own meaning. Thus, then, it is plain, the words 
dare not be taken in their simple natural import ; they must 
be stretched and bent, here there must be a Touto, there a Sig- 
nificat, here a Figura, there the words must be subverted, here 
the text must be transposed, there it must be mixed like a pack 
of cards. Behold here the origin of sects. If they abode firm- 
ly in the words as they stand there, and proved from the text 
and deductions from it, or from some other solid argument, 
that the words are to be understood differently from what they 
naturally signify, they would occasion no divisions." He con- 
eludes : " I herewith also admonish all pious Christians to be 
on their guard against these sects, and to abide in the pure, 
unadulterated Word of Christ. We truly have the advantage, 
that we need not, like them, to stretch and bend the words. 
I also pray, that you would diligently read this little book. If 
God grants me time, I shall write a particular treatise on this 
subject." 

This was accomplished in the writing : " That these words of 
Christ : This is my body, still stand firm against the fanatics" 
which he finished in the month of May, of the year 1527. In 
it he says, by way of introduction, that the very same devil, 
who always had occasioned heresies, now also assailed us 
through the fanatics, with their blasphemies against the holy 
and highly revered sacrament of our Lord Jesus Christ, of 
which they attempted to nrake mere bread and wine, and a 
mere distinguishing sign of Christians, according to their own 
dreams and fancies. That he was resolved again to oppose 
himself to this devil and his fanatics ; not on their own account, 
but for the sake of the weak and the simple : To convert the 
teachers of any heresy and fanaticism, he had no hope, but that 
he would not fail, with the permission of God, to set forth the 
truth before their eyes clearly and distinctly, and to tear from 
them some of their pupils ; and that if he did not succeed in 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



357 



this, which might God forbid, he would, nevertheless, before 
God and all the world, testify and confess, that he did not side 
with these fanatical blasphemers of the sacrament, never had, 
and never would side with them, and would wash his hands of 
the blood of all the souls, which they robbed with such poison 
from Christ, misled and destroyed. That he intended, how- 
ever, to despise the devil, and for this time to take up nothing 
further than the single declaration : this is my body. That it 
was known that there was a dispute concerning these words : 
one part saying, that according to these words the true body 
and blood of Christ are present ; the other, that mere bread and 
wine are present. That he who here believed and taught what 
was false, blasphemed God, and charged the Holy Ghost with 
falsehood, betrayed Christ, and misled the world. That one 
party must belong to the devil, and be the enemy of God ; 
there could be no neutral ground. That God's Word was not 
to be trifled with. " Neither does it avail them anything," add- 
ed he, " to say : that they, in all other respects, highly and 
greatly esteem God's Word and the whole Gospel, this only point 
being excepted. My dear friend, God's Word is God's Word, 
that does not need much discussion. He that charges God 
with falsehood, and blasphemes him with regard to one word, 
or says : that it is a trifling matter that he is blasphemed or 
charged with falsehood, he blasphemes the whole God and 
makes light of all blasphemy of God. He is one God, and does 
not suffer himself to be divided, or to be praised at one place 
and reviled at another, to be honoured at one place and de- 
spised at another." 

He then takes up the declaration : this is my body, which, 
he says, remained fixed in the hearts of the adversaries as an 
arrow, of which they could not rid themselves, and shows how 
they endeavoured to destroy the true sense of it, and to substi- 
tute their own ideas in its stead ; how their best arguments, 
moreover, amounted to nothing, and were destitute of all sub- 
stantiation, naked and bare. He then demonstrates that it is 
not contrary to the Scriptures and the articles of faith, that 
the body of Christ at the same time is in heaven and in the 
sacrament, in order to leave the words their simple and natu- 
ral import. He further attacks their other corner-stone, the 
verse John 6. The flesh profiteth nothing, which CEcolampadius 
called an iron bulwark, and gives the proper interpretation of 



358 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION". 



it. Finally, he reviews the passages from the Fathers, of 
which CEcolampadius treats. 

From this he draws the conclusion, that the fanatics failed 
wholly in this, that they did not distinguish the body of Christ 
from other flesh, as St. Paul said, 1 Cor. 11. So likewise that 
it would be better, if they ventured wholly to abolish these 
words in the Lord's Supper : This is my body given for you ; " for," 
says he, " as they believe and observe the Lord's Supper, they 
have no need of these words in it whatever, but it is quite suf- 
ficient for them to observe the Lord's Supper with these words: 
Christ took the bread, thanked and brake it and gave it to his dis- 
ciples, and said: Take, eat, do this in remembrance of me. 
For these words abundantly teach that this bread is to be 
eaten, and Christ to be remembered in connection there- 
with. But this is the sacrament of the fanatics, wholly 
and entirely." He then rebukes CEcolampadius for his 
blasphemy in asking, of what use or need it was that the 
body of Christ should be in the bread, and for concluding, 
in case this was not shown, that there was no use, and 
says : " But if they only in any way understood what faith is, 
and had ever experienced the least spark of it, they would know, 
that the highest and only virtue, characteristic, and honour of 
faith is, that it does not wish to know, of what use or need - 
that is which it believes. For it does not wish to prescribe limits 
to God, or to demand of him why, for what purpose, and from 
what necessity he enjoins and commands such and such a thing, 
but willingly remains ignorant, gives God the honour, and be- 
lieves his plain word." That he would nevertheless point out 
some uses : " This, firstly, then is a use of it, that haughty wise 
spirits and reason are blinded and rebuked, in order that the 
haughty may take offence and fall, and never enjoy the Supper 
of Christ ; that the humble on the other hand may support them- 
selves by it, and arise and alone enjoy the Lord's Supper." "In 
the second place, we have heard above how Irenaeus and the 
ancient Fathers have indicated as the use of our body being 
nourished with the body of Christ, that our faith and hope may 
be confirmed, that our body is nourished with the body of 
Christ, in order that our body may also eternally live, from the 
same eternal food of the body of Christ, which it eats bodily." 
"The third use, I trust, can be powerfully sustained. For they 
will certainly have to concede to us, that we have the Word 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



359 



of God in the Sacrament, namely, this : This is my body, given 
for you, this is my blood, shed for you, for the remission of sins. 
I therefore now, in return, ask them, whether God's Word is 
not of any use ? If it is not profitable, why does the prophet 
Isaiah, 55, declare that God's Word does not return void, but pro- 
duces good ? Why does St. Paul, Rom. 1, call it, the power of 
God, which saves all those that believe it ? Why does he call it 
the word of life, the word of grace, the word of salvation, the 
word of wisdom, and the like ? Are life, grace, salvation, wis- 
dom, strength, power, all useless things ? What then is use- 
ful?" But that if they should object, that the question was 
not, whether God's Word was profitable, but of what profit the 
body of Christ for itself was in the bread ; he would answer, 
that he did not suffer the body of Christ to be separated from 
the Word. And even if it were admitted, that the body of 
Christ was in the bread alone without any Word of God con- 
nected with it, which was impossible, they would still have 
gained nothing. " For if the body of Christ is present without 
an outward Word of God, he cannot be present without the 
inward eternal Word, which is God himself, John 1. For this 
Word became flesh, and is in the flesh. Now I ask again : 
Whether God himself profiteth not ? Truly, when he walked 
upon the earth, he profited so much, that he helped whom 
ever he touched through his flesh ; through his body he with 
bodily voice called Lazarus from the grave, he touched 
the leper and cleansed him, he walked upon the sea, and 
stretched out his hand to the sinking Peter, he journeyed 
through the land, performing nothing but miracles and doing- 
good. It is also altogether his nature to do good, wherever he 
is. How should he not now profit in the bread, when it is the 
very same flesh, the same Word, and of the same nature, and 
must be, and only is profitable ? " &c. 

He, in conclusion, holds up to them, that they who boasted 
of their holy lives and their sufferings, and judged of him, that 
the Spirit of God had forsaken him, could not charge upon 
their neighbour acts so notoriously villainous, and tricks so 
diabolical as those of Bucer, who had introduced the poison of 
their doctrine concerning the sacrament into the translation of 
John Pommer's Psalter, and into the edition of his, Luther's, 
Postils, so that it was circulated under their name against 
their will. 

Soon after the appearance of this treatise, (beginning of 



360 THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 

May, 1527,) Luther, at the same time with a treatise of Zwing- 
lius concerning the Lord's Supper, (the Arnica exegesis, i. e., 
expositio eucharistice negotii ad Martinum Lutherum,) received 
a letter from the same, concerning which he complains, that 
notwithstanding its friendly assurances, it was full of pride, 
calumny, obstinacy, hatred, yea, almost malice. In this letter, 
namely, Zwinglius writes : That he had always respected Lu- 
ther as a father, and would also in future respect him, unless 
it should be that Luther would not cease obstinately to resist 
the truth. He reproaches him with being guilty of the very 
same thing now which he had formerly condemned in the ene- 
mies, especially with inhumanly exciting the princes to rage 
against the poor peasants with fire and sword, and with call- 
ing to arms because he despaired of sustaining his cause with 
the Scriptures. That he did not publish anything now which 
was worthy of himself, and of the Christian religion, and that 
although the knowledge of the truth riow daily increased, gen- 
tleness and humanity were not augmented in him, but much 
rather boldness and cruelty ; many were beginning to think 
that something had happened to him, similar to what happens 
to those that are rejected of God ; but that he prayed this 
might be far from Luther ! The letter concludes with the ex- 
hortation : " Adieu ! and do thou exercise thy spirit with the 
contemplation of the death and the resurrection of Christ. 
For if thou appealest only to the mere natural body, then do 
thou not expect that the world will ever be so silly as not to 
distinguish between the hull of the words and the substance 
of the truth. Be assured that I shall always be devoted to 
thee, if thou wilt also continue to be what thou art called, 
namely, Lauter, that is, pure, untarnished, and free from sel- 
fishness ; but nothing shall I fear less than the foulness of as- 
persion. Again, adieu ! and mayest thou be guilty of nothing 
foolish." 

Zwinglius and CEcolampadius also replied to Luther's trea- 
tise : " That these words of Christ still stand firm ;" but being 
very weak at that time, he was not able even immediately to 
read their writings, much less to reply to them. At length he 
applied himself to the task, and wrote his " Confession concern- 
ing the Supper of Christ" which appeared in March, 1528. In 
it he by way of introduction declares, that although by his 
two books against the heavenly prophets and the fanatics, he 
had sufficiently elucidated the subject for all intelligent Chris- 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



361 



tians; and although these writings had not yet been answered 
by the opponents, much as they boasted of victory, he would, 
nevertheless, the more to confirm the weak, and the better to 
explain this article, publish this treatise as a final one in this 
dispute, since he well perceived that Satan, because he re- 
turned such awkward answers, and spewed out many and use- 
less words, designed in this way to hinder him in other matters. 

He now declares his intention to treat of three points in 
this book : In the first place, he wishes to put all pious Chris- 
tians on their guard against the enemies of the sacrament, by 
showing that they had not at all replied to his arguments. 
Here he says, among other things in the passage in which he 
speaks of it, that Zwinglius, in order to sustain his doctrine, 
denied the highest and most necessary article, that the Son of 
God died for us, yea, even blasphemed it as the most shocking 
of all heresies, thus separating the person of Christ, and leav- 
ing us no other Christ but a mere man, who died for us and 
redeemed us : "I confess for myself, that I consider Zwinglius 
and all his doctrine unchristian, for he does not believe and 
teach any point of Christian faith aright, and has become seven 
times worse than he was before when he was a papist, accord- 
ing to the declaration of Christ, Matt. xii. The last case of 
such a man is worse than the first. This confession I publish 
that I may be excused before God and the world for not being 
an advocate of Zwinglius's doctrine, and never wish to be." 
In the second part, he takes up the passages from the evange- 
lists and St. Paul, in order to strengthen his own conscience 
and the consciences of his friends. In the third part, he sets 
forth his confession " against this and all other new heresies," 
and says : " Because I perceive that sects and errors are con- 
tinually becoming more numerous, and there is no end of the 
rage and raving of Satan, that some of them, moreover, may 
not in future, during my life, or after my death, appeal to me 
and falsely adduce my writings to confirm their errors, as the 
sacramentarian and baptismal fanatics began to do, I shall in 
this writing, before God and all the world, point after point, 
confess my faith, in which I intend to abide to the end, and in 
it, by the help of God, to depart from this world, and to ap- 
pear before the judgment seat of our Lord Jesus Christ. And 
if any one after my death should say : if Luther yet lived, he 
would teach and believe differently on this or that point, for 
he did not sufficiently examine it, &c, I here in opposition 



362 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



declare, once for all, that, by the grace of God, I have most 
diligently considered all these articles, having often and rigid- 
ly subjected them to the test of the Scriptures, and would as 
certainly defend them as I have now defended the sacrament 
of the altar. I am not visionary now, nor inconsiderate ; I 
know what I speak, and am well aware that I have to render 
an account at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ at the last 
day. Therefore let no one interpret this as jest or trifling : I 
mean it seriously. For, by the grace of God, I know Satan to 
a considerable extent : if he can pervert and confuse the Word 
of God, what will he not attempt to do with these, or another's 
words V And now he confesses his faith concerning the high 
article of the Divine Majesty, that the Father, Son, and Holy 
Ghost, are, to a certainty, one natural, true God ; further, con- 
cerning the assumption of human nature by the Son of God, 
and the union of the two natures in Christ, concerning the 
fall and original sin, concerning the work of the Holy Ghost, 
concerning baptism, the Lord's Supper, the Church, the resur- 
rection, rejecting the various errors in reference to these 
points, and concluding with the words : " This is my faith, for 
thus all true Christians believe, and thus the Holy Scriptures 
teach us. But that which I have not exhibited here in suffi- 
cient detail, my books abundantly supply,- especially those 
published within the last four or five years. 1 entreat all pious 
men to bear me witness of this, and to pray for me, that I may 
firmly continue in this faith, and in it depart this life. For if 
(from which may God preserve me) I should in the hour of 
trial or death say anything differently, it shall nevertheless be 
null and void, and I wish herewith publicly to confess that it 
is false, and proceeds from Satan. May my Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ, blessed for ever, sustain me. Amen." 

In order to make an end of this dispute concerning the Lord's 
Supper, the Landgrave Philip of Hesse was desirous to have a 
colloquium between the two parties at Marburg. Luther 
being invited to it, replied, (under date of the 23d June, 1529,) 
that he, indeed, entertained poor hopes of peace, but would, 
as the landgrave's diligence and care in this matter were 
highly deserving of praise, be ready to yield him such un- 
grateful, and perhaps even dangerous service, in order that 
the opposition might not with truth have the praise of being 
more disposed to peace and union than he and his friends were. 
" To me it seems," continues he, " as if they, through the dili- 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



363 



gence of your princely grace, sought a piece of work which 
will not be productive of good, that they, namely, may after- 
wards boast against us, how they had not been wanting, they 
having engaged so great a prince in the matter, thus attempt- 
ing, through the name of your princely grace, to cast reproach 
upon us as being the enemies of peace and truth, but adorn- 
ing themselves most admirably. I know Satan well, and what 
he seeks. But God grant that I may not be a prophet in this 
case ; for if it were not a false trick, but sincere earnest with 
them to have peace, they would not need to proceed in this 
splendid way, through great and mighty princes, for we, by 
the grace of God, are not so rude and savage. They might 
long since in their writings have exhibited to us their humble 
diligence for peace, of which they boast, and might still ex- 
hibit it ; for I well know that I shall not in the least yield to 
them, nor can I, because for myself I am perfectly assured that 
they err, they being, moreover, themselves uncertain of the 
correctness of their own opinion. For I have become suffi- 
ciently acquainted with the ground upon which they stand in 
this matter ; so they have also well learned mine. Therefore 
my humble prayer is, that your princely grace would earnest- 
ly consider whether it may not be productive of more evil 
than good. For that is certain, if they do not yield, we shall 
separate from each other without accomplishing anything 
good, having met in vain, and your princely grace will lose 
all your expense and trouble. Then they will not cease from 
their boasting, but do as heretofore, and cast reproach upon 
us, so that we will be anew compelled to defend ourselves. 
Thus it will be worse in the end than it is now. And this 
precisely is what Satan seeks. But that your princely grace 
is apprehensive lest bloodshed may result from such disunion, 
your princely grace should know, that if this be the result, 
(which may God forbid,) we are wholly innocent in the mat- 
ter, and God will not fail to reveal our innocence. If the sec- 
tarian spirit causes bloodshed, it acts as it is Wont, as it for- 
merly likewise did through Francis von Sickingen, Karlstadt, 
and Miinzer, in all which cases we, nevertheless, through the 
grace of God, remained innocent, and the opposition guilty." 

On the 8th July, Luther, together with Melanchthon, pro- 
mised the landgrave that they would come ; towards a num- 
ber of his friends, however, he expressed himself that he ex- 



364 THE STRUGGLES OE THE REFORMATION. 

pected little from such conferences, and he even advised John 
Brentius, if possible, rather to remain away. 

About Michaelmas, Luther set out for Marburg, and arrived 
there on the 30th September. The opponents were already 
there. Both parties were received in a very gracious, yea, 
truly princely manner, by the landgrave. At first, very com- 
fortable lodgings had been designed for them in the town, but 
the landgrave changed his mind, and gave all of them a 
princely lodging and table in the castle. On the 1st of Octo- 
ber, those, who by both sides were regarded as the chief men, 
held a private interview in obedience to the wish of the land- 
grave, Luther with CEcolampadius, Melanchthon with Zwing- 
lius. Here it was represented to the Swiss, that also on other 
points (i. e., besides the article concerning the sacrament) ar- 
ticles were found in their doctrine which were reprehensible, 
and which would have to be discussed. That Zwinglius, 
namely, had in his writings denied the existence of original 
sin, he having represented sin to be only outward evil works, 
and deeds ; that we by nature do not fear God, and do not be- 
lieve in him, he considered no sin. That tfyis was an evidence 
of Zwinglius's not knowing much concerning true Christian 
holiness, since he placed sin alone in outward deeds, as the 
Pelagians, all papists and philosophers did. That they, in the 
second place, erred greatly in reference to the office of the 
Word, and the use of the sacraments, since they taught that 
the Holy Spirit was not given through the Word or the sacra- 
ments, but without the Word and the sacraments. That in' 
the third place, it had been reported concerning those at 
Strasburg, that they held erroneous views with regard to the 
Trinity. That they, in the fourth place, spoke and taught im- 
properly concerning the way in which man becomes righteous 
before God, they not sufficiently teaching the doctrine con- 
cerning faith, speaking of it as if the works which follow 
faith were that righteousness. That they also gave inade- 
quate instruction concerning the way in which faith is ob- 
tained. To this Zwinglius replied : Firstly, in regard to the 
divinity of Christ, that be had always taught, and did still 
teach, that Christ was true God and man. That he, moreover, 
in other respects, also taught concerning the Trinity as the 
synod of Nice had taught. That there, however, had been 
some in the country above of whom he had heard improper 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



things : this did not concern him. As to the other articles, 
namely, original sin, as also that the Holy Ghost is not given 
" through the Word and the sacraments, they disputed a great 
deal with reference to their importance, and Zwinglius here 
willingly departed from his writings. Concerning the article 
of faith, they received instruction as much as the shortness of 
the time permitted, and the more they heard of it the better 
they were pleased with it, and they yielded in all these points, 
though they had before publicly written differently concerning 
them. Afterwards they also spoke on the sacrament, b^t in 
regard to this they did not agree. 

On the following day a colloquium was held, not open 
indeed for every one, yet in the presence of the landgrave, and 
with the admission of his principal courtiers and counsellors, 
and of those whom the opponents on both sides had brought 
with them. On the one side there were present Zwinglius, 
CEcolampadius, Bucer, Medio, and with them the respectable 
counsellor, Jacob Sturm, of Strasburg, likewise Ulric Funk, an 
inhabitant of Zurich, and Robert Frey, a counsellor of Basle. 
On the other side there were Luther, Melanchtlwn, Eberhard 
von Than, bailiff of Eisenach, Justus Jonas, Caspar Cruciger, 
likewise Andreas Osiander, of Nuremberg, John Brentius, of 
Hall, and Stephanus Agricola, of Augsburg, who s had' come 
later. Many others from Frankfort, from the Rhine, from 
Cologne, Strasburg, Basle, Switzerland, &c, had also flocked 
in, but were not admitted to the conference, as this was held in 
the inner part of the castle adjoining the cabinet of the land- 
grave. Luther, Philip, Zwinglius, CEcolampadius, were seated 
at a particular table, standing in front of the landgrave, whom 
his courtiers surrounded. The public conference having now 
begun, Luther observed, that it was necessary to discuss the 
whole sum of Christian doctrine with them, since there were 
many errors found in the writings of Zwinglius ; they had also 
taught but little concerning justification, so that it was to be 
feared they did not understand much of the Gospel. In the 
second place, Luther protested that he had written correctly 
concerning the Lord's Supper, and would also continue in what 
he had taught. But if CEcolampadius and Zwinglius wished 
to advance anything against the truth, he would listen to it 
and refute it. In opposition Zwinglius said : That the object 
of their coming together was not to treat of any other doctrines 
except alone of the' sacrament ; that nevertheless, if they 



366 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



should agree upon this, they would also treat of other matters. 
The article of the sacrament was accordingly taken up alone, 
and there were especially three arguments which were treated 
of in the discussion : 

The first was, that John vi. 63, Christ had said : The flesh 
profiteth nothing. This Luther refuted thus : That these 
words of Christ were not to be understood of His own flesh, 
since He before, in the 54th verse, had said, that His flesh gave 
eternal life, but of flesh in which there is no spirit, wherefore 
Christ added : it is the Spirit that quickeneth, and wished to 
say that our flesh profits nothing and does not understand the 
work of God. That it certainly was shocking to say that the 
flesh of Christ profited nothing. And even if it were admitted 
that Christ spoke of His own flesh, Zwinglius could yet not ex- 
act his doctrine concerning the sacrament from this. Since 
these words did not say that the body of Christ was not in the 
sacrament, but if it were admitted that they spoke of the flesh 
of Christ, might be interpreted to mean, that the flesh of Christ 
does not profit those who do not believe, as Augustine also in- 
terpreted these words. 

The second, argument was taken from reason : That a body 
could not be in more than one place at a time ; that the body 
of Christ, however, was in heaven, &c. This argument drew 
forth a lengthy discussion. Luther said : That natural reason 
ought not, in any manner, to sit in judgment on the omnipo- 
tence of God. Zwinglius said : That God did not propose to 
us such incomprehensible things. Zwinglius also inquired: 
How so great a work could be performed by wicked priests, 
that the body of Christ should be brought there ? To this Lu- 
ther replied, that this was done not through the merits of the 
priest, but through the institution of Christ. That in the same 
wa} T we were to judge of the power of the Word and of all 
sacraments, that they are efficacious and exert an influence, 
not through the merits or the holiness of the priest or preacher, 
but through the power of the divine institution and the divine 
command. That it also was an error of the Donatists, that 
the sacraments are not efficacious when they are administered 
by wicked priests. To this substantial exposition of Luther, 
Zwinglius did not reply. 

The third argument was advanced by CEcolampadius : 
Sacraments are signs, therefore we are to understand that 
they signify something; wherefore we are here also to under- 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



387 



stand, that the body of Christ is only signified and not present. 
The reply to this was, that it was true that sacraments are 
signs, but that we were not to make them signify anything 
different from what Christ made them signify. Again, that 
sacraments are signs, is to be understood, especially, that they 
signify the promises attached to them. Therefore we are not 
to proceed presumptuously in giving significations, but are to 
see what signification God's Word itself gives. 
. On the 3d October the conference was continued and pro- 
longed nearly till night, the discussion being vehement, no 
agreement on the article of the sacrament, however, resulting 
from it. At last Zwinglius and CEcolampadius begged that 
they might be acknowledged as brethren, upon which the 
landgrave also urgently insisted. Zwinglius said with tears 
in his eyes : "There are no people on earth with whom I would 
rather be united than with the Wittenbergers." The Swiss 
exerted themselves to the utmost to give themselves the 
appearance of being united with the Wittenbergers, and could 
not endure it when Luther said : " Your spirit is different from 
ours." They became incensed as often as they heard this. 
But Luther would not, in any way, grant them the name of 
brethren, and took them severely to task, saying that he was 
greatly surprised that they should consider him a brother, and 
yet at the same time consider their own doctrine right. That 
this was an evidence of their not highly esteeming their own 
cause. He, nevertheless, extended to them the hand of peace 
and of love, that meanwhile all severe writings and words 
should cease, and each one teach his doctrine without hostility, 
yet not without*defending and refuting. 

In order that the negotiation, however, might not be fruit- 
less, they drew up articles in reference to other points, for the 
purpose of preventing further error. In these, Zwinglius and 
CEcolampadius willingly yielded to Luther's opinion in all 
respects, only on the sacrament they would not yield. The 
articles on which they agreed, treat of the Trinity, the assump- 
tion of human nature by the Son of God, the person of Christ, 
original sin, redemption, faith, justification, the outward Word, 
baptism, confession, the government. The fourteenth article 
reads thus : " Concerning the supper of our dear Lord Jesus 
Christ we all believe and teach, that both kinds are to be used 
according to the institution; that the mass, moreover, is not a 
work through which one can obtain grace for another, dead or 



368 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION « 



living; but that the sacrament of the altar is a sacrament of 
the true body and blood of Jesus Christ, and the spiritual recep- 
tion of this body and blood especially necessary for every 
Christian. So also as to the use ,of the sacrament ; that the 
Word is given and instituted by God the Almighty, in order 
that the weak consciences may be excited to faith and love, 
through the Holy Ghost. And although we have not at this 
time agreed whether the true body and blood of Christ are 
bodily present in the bread and wine, each party is, neverthe- 
less, to exercise Christian love towards the other, as far as 
each conscientiously can, and both parties are diligently to 
pray to God the Almighty, that He may, through His Spirit, 
establish us in the right understanding. Amen." 

The landgrave hastened to dismiss the assembly in conse- 
quence of a contagious disease prevailing in that district of 
country. 2 Luther departed on the 5th October, and returned 
by way of Schleitz, in the Voigtland, whither his elector had 
directed him to come. Having arrived at Wittenberg, he 
related from the pulpit, (where he, at that time, explained the 
book of Deuteronomy,) the issue of the Marburg conference. 
He observed that they had succeeded much better, and that the 
adversaries had been much more humble and friendly towards 
them, than they had expected. He further stated in what 
points the opponents had yielded, and added : " But that the 
body and blood of Christ are truly and bodily present, this they 
cannot yet believe. So much we have perceived, that if it 
had depended upon them they would have yielded, their lan- 
guage amounting to this : If the subject had not already been 
so fully discussed, it would not now have been broached. But 
because a fixed limit was set to them by their adherents, they 
could not retract. Brotherhood, however, they have desired 
of us, but we have this time refused, because we could not, 
consistently, yield to them. For if we should receive them as 
brethren and sisters, we would have to approve their doctrine. 
Although this refusal was not generally approved, as it was 
pretended that Christian love ought to be observed towards 
them, until God would also again restore them ; since we 
ought even to love our enemies. But let those who choose 
put an unfavourable construction upon it; and whoever can 
accomplish more, may accomplish it. They continue in their 
opinion, may God enlighten them: although they adorn them- 
selves in every way, and say that they do not deny that the 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION . 



369 



true body and blood of Christ are present, which has the ap- 
pearance then as if they agreed with us. They confess, that 
those who partake of the Lord's Supper truly receive the body 
and blood of Christ, but spiritually, by having Christ in the 
heart : the bodily reception they will not admit ; this we have 
charged upon their conscience, for we have God's Word and 
text to sustain us, which they have not. Therefore the matter 
rests in hope. I do not say that there is a brotherly union, but 
a kind, friendly agreement, that they may freely seek of us 
what they need, and we in return serve them. If you now 
diligently pray, it will also become brotherly." 

But when Luther afterwards heard that the sacramentarians 
boasted of having vanquished him at Marburg, he thought 
that it was evident now, that the incredible humility and 
friendliness which they had exhibited, had been merely assum- 
ed, in order to induce him and his friends to enter into an ap- 
parent union, and to make them participants of their errors. 
But that the wisdom of Christ had triumphed over the cunning 
of Satan, and preserved them. 

Authorities. — Works, vol. 19, p. 533. Let. No. 753. Preface to 
the Syngramma, Works, vol. 19, p. 385. Writings: That these words 
still stand firm, &c, ib. p. 388, (where, in consequence of a typographi- 
cal error, the caption is wanting.) Comp. Let. No. 858. No. 865. 
Zwinglius' let. to L. in Veesenmeyer's Literaturgeschichte der Brief- 
sammlungen L.'s p. 194. Let. No. 888, 910, 918, 985. The so-call- 
ed greater " Confession concerning the Supper of Christ," Works, vol. 
19, p. 440. Let. No. 1119. Corp. Ref. T. I. No. 621. Let. No. 
1138, 1149. The account of the Marburg conference according to the 
report of Jonas, (Corp. Rep. T. I. No. 634,) Melanchthon, (ib. No. 
636-38,) and Luther, (Let. No. 1156, vol. 4, No. 1217.) The Swiss 
authorities remained unconsulted, because a personal inspection and ex- 
amination of them was not possible. The articles of agreement, Works, 
vol. 19, p. 530. Corp. Ref. T. I. p. 636. Let. 1155. Works, vol. 4, 
p. 256. Let. vol. 4, No. 1217. s 

Notes. — 1.) It was not possible for Karlstadt to remain quiet after- 
wards ; he returned to his former errors, and caused Luther, who had 
again come to an understanding with him, and in the year 1526 had 
been sponsor for a child of his, much trouble. We thought, however, 
that these latter occurrences might be passed by in this place. 

2.) This was the "English sweat," repeatedly mentioned in Luther's 
letters, a sickness which broke out in England for the first time in 1485, 
and for the fourth time in 1528, being this time also conveyed to Ger- 
many and other countries, and by some historians denominated simply 
"the great mortality." Comp. Heckes, der engs. Schweiss. Ein arzt- 
licher Beitrag zur Geschichte des 15. u. 16. Jahrhunderts. 

24 



370 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION 



CHAPTER XI. 

CONCERNING SEVERAL TRANSACTIONS WHICH PRECEDED THE DIET OF 
AUGSBURG, AND LUTHER's CONNECTION WITH THEM. 

When, in the year 1528, the Landgrave, Philip of Hesse, was, 
through a counsellor of Duke George, Dr. Otto von Pack, se- 
cretly informed of a league entered into against himself and 
the elector, 1 and when both princes, upon this, entered into a 
counter-league, Luther and Melanchthon, in many opinions and 
writings, in reference to this matter, exhorted to peace. " There 
will, at any rate," they wrote to the elector, among other 
things, " be disturbance and war in abundance without this. 
The devil must not be painted above the door, or requested to 
be sponsor." And to Duke John Frederick : " War does not 
gain much, but loses much and hazards all ; meekness, how- 
ever, loses nothing, hazards little, and gains everything." But 
especially did they advise, not by any means to be the assail- 
ants, but above all things to seek peace and opportunity to ar- 
range the matter, in order that conscience might be the more 
secured ; that the emperor might be informed of such treache- 
rous designs, and the parties to the league be urged to desist 
from their project ; that indemnity for the expense of the pre- 
parations should not, however, be insisted upon, lest it might 
appear that war and strife were desired. That besides this, 
proper measures might be taken and preparation made, other 
princes and cities might be enlisted in the matter, as God had 
commanded; but even to this they added the warning: "It is 
not advisable that the army should be assembled; for such a 
collection of men cannot be restrained, they will do mischief." 

On their afterwards learning that a mandate had arrived 
from the government in his imperial majesty's name, enjoining 
peace upon all the estates of the realm, they were highly re- 
joiced, and wrote : " It seems to us that God hears our prayer, 
and wishes graciously to be with us, for He greets us in a truly 
friendly way, if we could rejoin to him and well receive him ; 
for such cause, which comes to us of itself, we might truly 
have sought far and wide." They therefore advised, that this 
imperial command should by no means be despised ; firstly, 
that God, who thus graciously manifested his approval of 
peace, might not be despised ; secondly, because such man- 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 371 

date had proceeded from the regular divinely-instituted au- 
thorities, to whom obedience was due, especially because no- 
thing evil, but merely good and peace, were commanded. 
"We are apprehensive," continue they, "if such mandate 
should be despised or disregarded, that the princes of the 
league would from this obtain for themselves the most plausi- 
ble appearance of right, and exhibit our part in the most odious 
light before all the world, maintaining that they had manifest- 
ed a disposition for peace and obedience to his imperial ma- 
jesty, but had in such obedience been aggrieved by us in our 
disobedience and rebellion against his imperial majesty; thus 
directly fastening upon us the charge of high treason. In ad- 
dition to this, they would doubtless negotiate further with said 
government, and obtain a proscription, so that the result for 
our part as regards their cause, would be, that they would have 
no good conscience before God, no right before the realm, and 
no just ground before the world ; which would be exceedingly 
dreadful and shocking. And, in short, we fear that Satan de- 
signs something greater than we imagine ; for his aim is to assail 
not only a part of the Gospel at a time, but as Haman attempt- 
ed to extirpate the whole Jewish race, so he wishes to spread 
ruin throughout all Germany, and at the same time to extir- 
pate the Gospel. It is not without design that he is so diligent 
about us, striving and endeavouring to make us sluggish and 
negligent, yea, indolent and indisposed to seek and to accept 
the peace which God offers and proposes to us. Your electo- 
ral grace will no doubt yourself well consider, what an unhap- 
py thing it would be, even though everything should succeed 
and be accomplished, if so much bloodshed should, without ne- 
cessity, be occasioned, in opposition to conscience and his im- 
perial majesty." " And," say they, in addition, " if, which may 
God prevent, it should be undertaken and carried through in 
such an evil conscience and disobedience, it should, neverthe- 
less, ever grieve us, that, we should then undoubtedly be under the 
necessity of declaring against your electoral grace, our most be- 
loved Lord, by whom we have thus far been so kindly and affec- 
tionately sustained and protected, and overwhelmed with noble 
and great benefits and favours, and should further have to testify 
how I, Martin, averred to your electoral grace at Altenburg, that 
we would, for the sake of the Gospel, be constrained to forsake the 
dominions of your electoral grace and to betake ourselves else- 
where, that such great reproach might not, with plausibility, fall 



372 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



upon that same innocent Word of God. What could ever grieve 
our hearts more, than that we, and perhaps many other wor- 
thy men with us, should be constrained to be separated from 
such a father and patron." In another letter they once more 
pray : "That (in coming to an arrangement) the indemnity for 
the expenses should not be so urgently insisted upon, since it 
would be better to lose so much expense, than to begin so great, 
so hazardous and dangerous a business. What would we do, 
if so much injury had been sustained from some other cause, 
through fire, or water, or other calamity, as the insurrection of 
the peasantry," &c. " God has more remaining than the ex- 
pense amounts to, and can without difficulty restore it again, 
if his divine admonition and means are followed and not de- 
spised." 

Luther was greatly rejoiced when he perceived that the 
matter was likely to be peaceably arranged, but the apologies 
of the duke and the rest, who denied the league, he would not 
admit, for he thought that they had hitherto, in design and 
deed, through commands and in every way, pursued and wish- 
ed to pursue, and did still pursue, what that league, in its va- 
rious details, embraced ; that they persecuted the Gospel, and 
wished to have the elector put out of the way, as everybody 
knew. To Wenceslaus Link he wrote in reference to the mat- 
ter : " I consider the exceedingly cool apology of Duke George 
almost to be an admission. Let them deny, apologize, pre- 
tend ; I know what I know, namely, that this league is not an 
empty report or chimera, though certainly a monstrous affair." 
"God will bring this fool of all fools to nought, who, like Moab, 
ventures to undertake more than he is able to accomplish, and 
forgets to measure his pride according to his power, as he has 
always done. We will pray against these murderers, and 
thus far let them be forgiven. If they again undertake any- 
thing, we will pray God and then exhort the princes, that they 
may be destroyed without mercy, as they are resolved, in their 
insatiable thirst for blood, not to rest till they have deluged 
Germany with blood." 

Of this letter Duke George received a copy, and he imme- 
diately wrote to Luther, that he should in writing distinctly 
inform the messenger whether he had written to Link a com- 
munication such as the one enclosed. Luther replied, that he 
had so far most patiently borne with the duke, particularly 
with regard to the preface to Emser's New Testament, 2 and 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



373 



the answer to his humble letter, (see p. 330,) and would also 
in this instance hear with him, wherefore he very humbly 
prayed that the duke would not tempt him with such notes or 
copied letters. That he would, no doubt, be able without 
Luther's aid, to ascertain who the author of such letter was. 
Upon this the duke entered complaints with the elector, but 
Luther rejoined that he would be constrained this time also to 
abide by his answer. The Duke then published a "Defence 
with reference to the League of Mayence" in which he caused 
Luther's letter to be inserted, and uttered vehement com- 
plaints about it. Luther was informed that 8,000 copies of 
this writing had been printed, and were to be sent to all parts 
of the world under the Duke's seal, and he even secretly re- 
ceived a copy of it. He forthwith drew up his reply, the trea- 
tise " Concerning secretly stolen letters, together with an expla- 
nation of the seventh Psalm against Duke George of Saxony :" 
in order that it might appear at the same time with the duke's 
writing. In this he insists especially upon the fact, that the 
point in dispute here was a private writing addressed to a 
single person, and not published, and that he had not been 
able to reply with yes or no to the duke's question, because he 
had neither possessed the original letter, nor a copy of it. " I 
well know," said he among other things concerning the duke, 
4 that he is Duke of Saxony, Landgrave of Thuringia, and 
Margrave of Meissen, and, truly, God has given him a noble 
country, and a beautiful dominion, yet, alas ! as Solomon says, 
" it is not given him to enjoy it in the quiet of his heart. But 
that he should also be duke over other men's letters, Land- 
grave over private remarks, and Margrave over thoughts, 
this I shall, if God permit, not yet believe or endure this year." 
After he had further remarked upon this, and spoken of seve- 
ral points of the letter concerning which Duke George com- 
plained, he added : " Finally, I humbly pray Duke George and 
all his adherents finally to cease, and to suffer our doctrines 
to be undisturbed, especially because they know that the Diet 
of Speyer (1526) has permitted us to believe, as we hope to 
be able to answer for it to God and his imperial majesty, and 
not to set themselves up against such decree of the assembled 
realm ; then we shall, as we have done heretofore, again, in 
all quiet and peace, serve them, earnestly pray for them to 
God, help, advise, bear and raise up to the best of our ability. 
We desire nothing more than peace and quiet, as we also, in 



374 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



the electorate, enjoy great quiet, in regard to doctrine and 
life." That he, moreover, was prepared to answer for him- 
self, not indeed as regarded private letters and remarks, but 
with regard to anything else that the Duke might have against 
him ; only he could not permit him to be judge, umpire, mas- 
ter, or lord, but enemy, accuser, and adversary. That Duke 
John the elector, and the Emperor Charles, were his lords, be- 
sides whom he allowed no person upon earth to exercise any 
authority over him. 

Concerning this treatise, Duke George, through messengers 
whom he despatched, entered complaints with the elector, to 
whom Luther had already, before the appearance of it, (the 
31st December, 1528,) given information of it, praying him to 
be perfectly at ease on his account, and without hesitation to 
offer him up for justice, since he would rather yield up his 
life than that the elector should incur the least danger on his 
account. At the same time he had exhibited to him in detail 
how he, the elector, could comfort himself as regarded his own 
person and affairs. The elector replied to the Duke, that the 
matter grieved him, but that the Duke had been too hasty in 
the publication of his writing against Luther ; the latter, on 
the other hand, was censured for too vehemently referring to 
the Packian league, and directed him not to publish anything 
in future which might have reference to the elector, or Duke 
George and others, without first sending it to the court. What 
he might write concerning doctrine, he should, as the elector 
Frederick had already enjoined, submit to the rector and the 
theologians of the university for inspection. The bailiff and 
council of the town also were directed to see that the printers 
obeyed this command. 

In consequence of the continually increasing progress which 
the Turks were making, Luther, in August of the year 1528, 
resolved to write a treatise " concerning the war against the 
Turks." It could not appear, however, till March of the year 
1529, because the first sheets had been lost. In the dedication 
to the landgrave Philip, he says, that he had, five years pre- 
vious already, been desired to write concerning the war against 
the Turks, and to exhort the people to it ; that now, as the 
Turks were approaching, his friends insisted upon his execu- 
ting this task, " especially because there are some awkward 
preachers among us Germans (as I am sorry to hear), who re- 
present to the people that we are not to wage war against the 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



375 



Turks, and some even who are so mad as to teach that it is 
utterly wrong for a Christian to wield the temporal sword, or 
to govern. In addition to this, as our German nation is a rude, 
uncultivated nation, yea, almost semi-devils, there are some 
who desire the approach and the government of the Turks." 
That such error and wickedness among the people were as- 
cribed to Luther, and represented as a fruit of his Gospel ; 
wherefore he was constrained to say something in defence of 
himself, not to the calumniators, but in order that innocent 
consciences might not be further misled by such blasphemers. 

He begins by referring to the fact, that Pope Leo X. had, in 
his bull against him, among the rest also condemned the 
thesis, in which he had said : " To wage war against the 
Turks is precisely the same thing as to resist God, who with 
such scourges visits punishment upon our sins." That from 
this it had been argued, that his advice was against resisting 
the Turks by force of arms ; but that here the condition was 
lost sight of, in which the world had been at that time. That 
if the world were in the same condition yet, he would still 
have to defend that thesis. That it had not at all been known 
at that time with regard to the temporal government, whence 
it was derived, what its office or duties were, or how it was to 
serve God. That the pope and the clergy had at that time 
been in possession of all power, and the temporal government 
had been obscured and unknown. That the pope and his 
followers, however, had pretended to be Christians and still 
presumed to wage war against the Turks, which had con- 
strained him to show that Christians are not to resist evil, but 
endure and permit everything, and that he had done this so 
much the rather, in order at the same time to expose the 
knavery of Rome, as the pope had never been in earnest with 
regard to the war against the Turks, but had employed this 
war only as a pretext to further his designs under it, by relat- 
ing from the Koran of the Turks, how, by its rejection of the 
Son of God and His doctrines, and by its falsehoods, it destroyed 
the spiritual station ; by the domination of the sword, the tem- 
poral station ; and by its contempt for marriage, the domestic 
institution. 

" The other personage," continued he, " to whom it belongs 
to wage war against the Turks, is the Emperor Charles, or 
whoever is emperor ; for the Turks attack his subjects and his 
empire, and he is in duty bound to defend his people, as being 



276 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATIO??. 



the regular authority ordained of God." He that wars at the 
command of the emperor, under his banner and in his name, 
hereby secures his conscience that he acts in obedience to 
Divine order. But with such imperial banner and command 
there must not be connected any impure motives, and the em- 
peror must have no other object but to discharge the duties of 
his office, to protect his subjects ; and those under his banner, 
no other inducement than the obligations of duty ; but, honour, 
renown, acquisitions, &c, are not to be the objects ; for 
precisely because these have heretofore been sought, there has 
been no success. Therefore also the emperor and the princes 
are not to be excited to wage war against the Turks, on the 
ground that he is the head of Christendom, the protector of the 
Church, and the guardian of the faith, and therefore under ob- 
ligation to extirpate the faith of the Turks. The Church and 
the faith must have a very different protector from emperors 
and kings ; who generally are the worst enemies of Christen- 
dom and of the faith. If the emperor were constrained to ex- 
tirpate all infidels and ungodly men, he would have to begin 
with the pope, the bishops, and the clergy? and perhaps not 
spare us or himself ; for there is shocking idolatry enough in 
his own empire, so that he has no need of making war upon 
the Turks on that account. The sword of the emperor has no 
concern with faith, its business is with bodily, temporal affairs, 
and let us beware of exciting the wrath of God, and of per- 
verting and confusing his order, lest he in turn pervert and 
confound us by all manner of calamity. Therefore the empe- 
ror and the princes are to be reminded of their office, and the 
duties devolving on them, that they may, with diligence and 
faithfulness, endeavour to afford their subjects peace and pro- 
tection against the Turks ; for it seems from many diets, as if 
the emperor and princes did not themselves believe that they 
are emperor and princes, since they act as if it were left to 
their own good pleasure and fancy, to rescue their subjects and 
to protect them against the Turks, or not. Every one permits 
things to proceed as if they did not concern him. or as if it 
were optional with him to act or not to act. They take up 
Luther's affairs, and discuss whether meat may be eaten dur- 
ing Lent, and whether nuns may take husbands, &c, all mat- 
ters concerning which they have no command to act ; whilst 
they, meanwhile, disregard the solemn and strict command of 
God, which has constituted them prolc'cto:-* of unhappy Ger- 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



877 



many, and become murderers, traitors, and bloodhounds, 
towards their own subjects, exposing them to the rage of the 
Turks. 

But if the emperor and princes would now consider that 
they, in obedience to the command of God, owe protection to 
their subjects, they ought further to be admonished not to 
undertake such work of protection from self-confidence, or a 
reliance upon their own power and counsels. It does not 
suffice for thee to know that God has enjoined it upon thee to 
perform this or that, thou art also to perform it in fear and 
humility. For God commands no one to do anything in reli- 
ance on his own counsel or strength, he wishes also to be con- 
sulted and to be feared. Yea, he wishes to perform it through 
us, and to be entreated, lest we become presumptuous and for- 
get his aid, as the 147th Psalm says : The Lord taketh pleasure 
in them that fear Him, in those that hope in His mercy. Other- 
wise we would be disposed to imagine that we ourselves could 
accomplish it without the aid of God, assuming to ourselves 
the victory and the honour which are due alone to Him.'* 

After he had further elucidated this with passages and ex- 
amples from the holy Scriptures, he teaches how those people 
are to be instructed and to be convinced of their sin, who de- 
sired the approach and the government of the Turks, and then 
speaks of the objection : That the pope was equally wicked 
with the Turks, and if it were necessary to wage war against 
the Turks, it would also be necessary to wage war against the 
pope. To this he replies : That the pope was very little better 
than the Turks, and bore a very great resemblance to Ma- 
homet, and that like sin ought certainly to meet like punish- 
ment. If the pope, therefore, and his followers, should attempt 
to employ the sword against the empire, as the Turks did, then 
he would have to be regarded in the same light as the Turks, 
as had recently happened to him also at Pavia, (on the 24th 
February, 1525,) through the army of the Emperor Charles. 
That against the papacy, however, its errors and evil prac- 
tices, the chief man, Christ Jesus, had now arisen, and was 
briskly assailing the pope by prayer and God's Word, having 
also lodged His darts in him so as to cause him to feel it and 
to rave. 

He further replied to the objection : How the emperor could, 
at this time, wage war against the Turks, when he was im- 
peded by such great difficulties and such treachery against 



378 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



himself; and finally gives his earnest and faithful advice, say- 
ing, that if there should be war against the Turks, thorough 
preparation should be made, and the Turks should not be 
despised. That there was a different majesty with this Gog 
and Magog, than with our kings and princes. "For if our 
kings and princes harmoniously co-operated with one another, 
and Christians also prayed for them, I would be perfectly at 
ease, and confidently hope that the Turks would cease from 
their fury, and find a man in the Emperor Charles who would 
be a match for them. But if the reverse should be the case, 
and things should proceed as they proceed now, no one har- 
monizing with the other, or observing fidelity towards the 
other, each one wishing to act independently of the rest and 
entering the field with his own scanty troops, I must suffer it 
to be so ; and though I shall willingly aid with my prayer, it 
will be a weak prayer ; for I can, in reality, have but little 
faith in its being heard, since matters of such importance are 
undertaken in a way so childishly presumptuous and incon- 
siderate, that I know God is tempted and can have no pleasure 
in it." 

In the same year, when the Turks had besieged Vienna, but, 
being foiled in their attempt to carry it, had (on the 16th Oc- 
tober) been obliged to withdraw, Luther, who informed his 
friends of this news in order that they might, with him, return 
thanks to God, also published his " Sermon to the army against 
the Turks" for he thought that his dear Germans would now, 
as was their manner, sit down again, and cheerily drinking 
and feasting, neglect to make a good use of such favour, un- 
gratefully forgetting it, and thinking : " Hah, the Turks are 
gone now and have fled, what need we concern ourselves, and 
incur useless expenses ? " He therefore, in the first part, 
instructs the consciences as to what the Turks are, according 
to the Scriptures, namely, the last and worst wrath of Satan 
against Christ, in which the enemy makes his last desperate 
effort, and interpreting the 7th chapter of Daniel as designating 
them, he once more teaches how they are to be resisted. In 
the second part, he exhorts to action, showing that body and 
property are to be hazarded in the matter, and willingly 
yielded, and that if the government demanded contributions 
for this war, these should be rendered, as was just. 

Of great importance were the opinions which were demand- 
ed of Luther and his friends, in consequence of the transactions 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



379 



of the Diet of Speyer, held in the year 1529. Here the decree of 
the Diet held at Speyer, in the year 1526, that every one should, 
till the expected general council, so act with regard to matters 
of religion, as he hoped to be able to answer to God and the 
emperor for it, was to be abolished, and instead of it, it was to 
be resolved, that those who had hitherto conformed to the 
Edict of Worms, should also, in future, conform to it, and 
cause their subjects to observe it ; that the rest, however, 
who could not, without great danger, abolish the opposite 
doctrine, should thenceforth, until the council, as far as they 
possibly and humanely could, avoid all further innovations. 
It being resolved, notwithstanding the opposition of the evan- 
gelical estates to it, to insert this decree in the final address of 
the diet ; the former entered a solemn protestation against it. 
Luther, of whom the elector had desired an expression of his 
opinion, advised : Firstly, to show how great the abuses of the 
clergy had been, how the estates of the realm had entered com- 
plaints on account of them, and pope Adrian the VI. himself 
had acknowledged them. That all the world had been weary 
of the abuses of the clergy and inimical to them, and there had 
been cause for apprehension, that if Luther's doctrine, through 
which the people had been instructed concerning the faith of 
Christ and obedience to the government, had not interfered, 
there would have been a distressing and pernicious state of 
things occasioned in Germany. That the elector had been 
constrained to permit to arise and to fall, what had arisen and 
fallen, but had at the same time exercised care, that no un- 
christian doctrines had been introduced. But that now, since 
the decree of Speyer demanded of the estates of the realm to 
forsake this doctrine, which the elector, nevertheless, deemed 
Christian, the consolation of which he had moreover during 
these times experienced, he could not give his consent to this 
decree : 1. Because by this he would act against his conscience. 
2. Because by doing so he would make himself a partaker of the 
sins of all those, who, following his example, would also, against 
their conscience, condemn this doctrine. 3. Because it was not 
in his power to compel any one to introduce or to receive the 
abolished abuses, as he had not been the cause of their decline. 
4. Because in this way he would confirm the insufferable op- 
pression of the clergy, concerning which the estates of the 
realm had complained at Worms. 5. That his imperial ma- 
jesty could, from the fact that the estates of the realm had not 



580 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



condemned this doctrine but deferred it to a council, perceive 
that he had not acted otherwise than became a Christian. 
That his imperial majesty was accordingly to be entreated, not 
to burthen the conscience of the elector with such grievous 
demands, but. as all the estates of the realm also awaited a 
council, to afford his aid and advice in the preservation of 
Christian peace by just and proper means, and in having the 
affairs investigated and not condemned thus unknown. 

From Melanchthon, who had returned from the diet. Luther 
learned that a new league was said to exist, between the land- 
grave, namely, and several cities. This greatly disturbed him, 
and he said : That he had rejoiced when God. a year previous, 
had delivered them from a dangerous league, and that he 
could therefore not refrain from "writing to the elector concern- 
ing it, in order that, if the landgrave was determined to persist 
in his league-making, the elector might not suffer himself to 
be drawn into the matter, since it was not at all possible to 
conceive what trouble might in the end flow from it. That 
such league, in the first place, was not of God. and did not pro- 
ceed from confidence in God, but wholly from a reliance on 
human skill and human aid. That the crowd of the papists 
were not able to succeed so far, and had not so much confi- 
dence as to begin anything, and that God had already, with 
the good bulwarks of his might, secured those attached to the 
Gospel. That such league accomplished nothing further than 
to cause the opposition also to form leagues. That the land- 
grave, moreover, was a restless, young prince, and might, per- 
haps, as had happened the year previous, find cause not only 
for protection, but also for assault. "In the second place," said 
he. " this is the worst of all. that in such league we have the 
most of those who strive against God and the sacrament, as 
being the perverse enemies of God and his Word, by which we 
bring upon ourselves all their sin and blasphemy, make our- 
selves partakers of them and defend them, so that truly a more 
dangerous league could not be formed, to bring reproach upon 
the Gospel and to suppress it, and to condemn us with body and 
soul ; this is precisely what Satan wishes. If no other course 
will succeed, may God grant that your electoral grace may 
leave the landgrave to himself and be separated from him, as 
I understand my gracious lord the Margrave George is inclined 
and acts. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who has thus far wonder- 
fully helped your electoral grace without the landgrave 1 yea, 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORM ATIOJT. 



381 



against the landgrave, will also help and counsel further!" 
In the third place, he adduces passages from the Old Testa- 
ment, in which God invariably condemns such leagues and re- 
liance upon human aid. 

For these very reasons, and for others, Luther, in another 
written opinion, declared such league to be impossible and vain, 
dangerous, suspicious, seductive and unchristian, the latter on 
account of the heresy against the sacrament, which in this way 
would be strengthened and defended, he at the same time ad- 
ducing the example of Achan, whose sin had brought calamity 
upon the whole people. If any one, added he, should pretend 
that the cities are united with us on all other points, this one 
only being excepted, and that because of the others so much 
would not depend upon this one ; it is to be answered, that 
upon this very point enough depends, as the example instan- 
ced of Achan demonstrates ; and he that denies one article, is 
no less an infidel than Arius, or one of them. And if, again, it 
should be said that this league does not concern doctrine, but 
is opposed to outward force, this is untenable, as it is well 
known that the adversaries design to attack us on no other 
account but that of doctrine. 3 

Previously to the meeting at Schmalkalden (the 29th No- 
vember, 1529), the elector once more, through his chancellor, 
Dr. Briick, demanded of Luther and two of his colleagues an 
opinion, as to whether the formation of a league for the pro- 
tection of religion was admissible. To this Luther replied in 
particular: "We cannot in our conscience- approve of such 
alliance, and cannot advise it, considering, that if in the pro- 
gress of it any bloodshed or other calamity should flow from 
it, and we should then wish to be delivered from it, we could 
not be so, and would have to bear the insufferable charge of 
causing all such evil, so that we would sooner ten times be 
dead, than have such a conscience, that our Gospel had been 
the cause of any bloodshed or injury occasioned by us, since 
we are to be those who suffer, and, as the prophet, Psalm xliv. 
22, says, ' to be accounted as sheep for the slaughter,' not re- 
venging or defending ourselves, but leaving room for the wrath 
of God. Rom. xii. 19. But that your electoral grace is made 
to incur danger on this account, signifies nothing. Our Lord 
Christ is mighty enough, and can readily find ways and means 
to prevent such danger from proving injurious to your electo- 
ral grace ; he can bring the counsel of the ungodly princes to 



382 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



nought. Psalm xxxiii. 10. For we do not think otherwise but 
that such undertaking of the emperor is a mere menace of 
Satan, which will be without power, and finally prove the 
destruction of the adversaries, as the seventh Psalm (v. 16) 
imports : ' His mischief shall return upon his own head, and 
his violent dealings shall come down upon him ;' excepting 
that Christ (as is just and necessary) tries us, whether we are 
in earnest with regard to his Word, and esteem it to be certain 
truth or not. For if we wish to be Christians, and to have 
eternal life in the future world, we will not be able to have it 
better than our Lord himself, with all his saints, has had it, 
and still has it. There is no alternative ; the cross of Christ 
must be borne ; the world does not wish to bear it, but to im- 
pose it ; therefore of course we Christians must bear it, that 
it may not lie neglected and be made nought. Your electoral 
grace has thus far faithfully aided in bearing it, both against 
insurrection, and also against great trials, envy, hatred, and 
many wicked schemes of friends and foes ; God has neverthe- 
less always graciously sent deliverance, and given your elec- 
toral grace an unwavering confidence, and neither denied 
bodily nor spiritual solace, but has wonderfully exposed, rent 
asunder, and brought to nought all the wicked tricks and 
snares of Satan. He will not in future, therefore, fail to de- 
liver, if we believe and pray. We are perfectly assured, and 
have also in the visible help of God thus far experienced it, 
that our cause is not our own, but God's. Here is our confi- 
dence and comfort, therefore he has also, as a faithful God, 
taken this his cause into his protection, and defended it, con- 
straining us to acknowledge that it was beyond our skill and 
power, and that we would not have been able with our reason 
thus to direct, defend, and accomplish. Therefore I submis- 
sively pray and exhort your electoral grace to be confident and 
undaunted in such danger : we shall, if God permit, accom- 
plish more with prayer and entreaty than they with all their 
defiance. Let us, therefore, preserve our hands pure from 
blood and wickedness, and if it should come to pass (which I 
do not apprehend), that the emperor persists and demands me 
or the rest, then we will, by the help of God, appear for our- 
selves, and not expose your electoral grace to any danger on 
our account, as I formerly also repeatedly declared to your 
electoral grace's deceased brother, my most gracious lord, 
Duke Frederick.. For your electoral grace should not attempt, 



^HEl STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



S83 



nor can defend the faith of another ; but every one should de- 
fend his own faith, and believe or not believe at his own haz- 
ard, and not at the hazard of another, if matters come to such 
a pass that our lord the emperor assails us. Meanwhile, much 
water courses away, and God can readily find means to pre- 
vent things from happening as they imagine. May Christ, our 
Lord and comfort, abundantly strengthen your electoral grace. 
Amen. The 18th November, 1529. 4 

Authorities. — Seckend. lib. II. § XXXV. Let. No. 984, 989, 
999. A. and B. 1000, 1003, 1005. Works, vol. 19, p. 670. Let. 
1045, 1054, 1060. Treatise concerning secretly stolen letters, vol. 22, 
p. 5. Seckend. lib. II., p. 149, comp. let. No. 1061. Let. No. 1021, 
72, 76. Treatise concerning the war against the Turks, vol. 2S, 
p. 339. Let. No. 1162 and seq. Treatise : Sermon to the army 
against the Turks, vol. 22, p. 356. Sleidan. lib. VI., p. 171. Let. 
No. 1090, 1104, 1113. Seckend. lib. II., p. 141. Let. No. 1170. 

Notes. — 1.) Although nothing good was to be expected from the 
opponents, this league itself is nevertheless at the present day univer- 
sally regarded as an invention. Further particulars concerning it be* 
long to the History of the Reformation, and the documents in reference 
to it are to be found in Hortleder and Rommel. (Above, on p. 331, an 
error has remained, since the league of Mayence mentioned there, is 
in no way connected with the Packian business.) 

2. ) In the preface to this translation of Emser, which was opposed 
to that of Luther, Duke George severely assails the latter. 

3. ) For the very purpose of obviating this objection, which seemed 
very important also to the elector, the landgrave sought to bring about 
a union with those who taught differently concerning the Lord's Sup- 
per, and with this view promoted the holding of the Marburg Confer- 
ence. See above, ch. 10. No further notice can here be taken of the 
different negotiations at that time entered into by the protesting estates, 
nor of the conventions which they held in reference to the matter. 

4. ) In an opinion of the 6th March, 1530, given after previous 
consultation with Jonas, Bugenhagen, and Melanchthon, Luther also 
decidedly gives his advice against opposition to the emperor. Let. 
No* 1191. To this we recur in the subsequent portion of this work. 



CHAPTER XII. 

LUTHER AT COBURG DURING THE DIET OP AUGSBURG IN 1530. 

In the beginning; xp,f the year 1530, Luther was absent for 
several days visiting neighbouring churches, but soon other 
labours awaited him. On the 14th March, the elector wrote 
to him, Dr. Jonas, Pommer, and Philip Melanchthon, that his 



384 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



imperial majesty had summoned a Diet, to be held at Augs- 
burg on the 8th April, at which his imperial majesty designed 
to be present in person. That here the dispute concerning re- 
ligion was to form the main subject for consultation, the opin- 
ion of each side was to be heard, and an enduring union and 
peace were to be restored. That it seemed as if this Diet 
were to be held instead of a council, or national convention, 
therefore it was highly necessary " that we were thoroughly 
prepared with regard to all the articles concerning which the 
dispute was continued, both in regard to faith, and also out- 
ward ecclesiastical ceremonies, so that we may, before the 
beginning of the Diet, be firmly and fixedly resolved, whether, 
in what respect, and how far, we and the other estates who 
have received and admitted the pure doctrine among them, 
may, and can justly, with a good conscience towards God, and 
without grievous offence, endure negotiation." That because 
no one could understand this matter better and more thorough- 
ly than they did, they should let all other business and affairs 
lie, and apply themselves to the consideration of this matter, 
to the end that they might by the next Sunday, Oculi, (the 
20th March,) be ready with it, and on that day assemble at 
Torgau. That the summons did not require of each estate to 
bring its preachers and learned men along to the negotiation, 
and that it was not known whether this would be admissible ; 
that Dr. Luther, Dr. Jonas, and M. Philip Melanchthon should 
nevertheless arrange their affairs so, and likewise as much as 
possible provide for having others to lecture in the university 
in their stead, during their absence, so that they might again 
be at Torgau on a day to be specified, and be able, together 
with M. Spalatin and Eisleben, to proceed to Coburg with the 
elector, where they, especially Luther, should await further 
orders. 

Luther immediately called Dr. Jonas back from the visita- 
tion, and meanwhile applied himself to the work with the 
other two. On the day appointed, they delivered seventeen 
articles of Christian doctrine at Torgau, and soon afterwards 
again assembled at the same place, 1 where the elector caused 
Luther in a sermon to explain to him the words, Matt. x. 32 : 
'He that confesseth me before men,' &c. QnVthis same da}% 
(Sunday, Judica, the 3d April.) the elector set out with his 
suite. On the Sunday, Palmarum, Luther preached at Wei- 
mar, where the princes partook of the Lord's Supper ; so he 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



385 



likewise during passion-week, delivered sermons at Saal- 
feld, Grafenthal, and Neustadt, and repeatedly at Coburg, 
where they arrived on Saturday previous to Easter, and 
celebrated the feast of Easter. On the 21st, the elector de- 
parted with the rest, whilst Luther, not knowing himself at 
first why, was left behind at Coburg by the elector, who for a 
long time was undecided what he should do in this respect. 
He now took up his abode in the castle, which he called his 
Sinai, but of which, as he wrote to Melanchthon, he meant to 
make a Zion, intending to erect three tabernacles there, one 
to the Psalter, one to the Prophets, and one to iEsopus. 2 Here 
he was quite alone; the largest edifice, which commanded 
the whole castle; was wholly committed to him, and he had 
received the keys to all the apartments ; was also, as he says, 
entertained better than well. The place was very agreeable, 
and suited for study, and nothing but the absence of his friends 
disturbed him. Having at first to be idle because of being 
without his port- folio, books, and other articles, he amused 
himself with the movements and cries of the crows and jack- 
daws around the castle, and thus wrote to his table-friends at 
Wittenberg concerning them : " Grace and peace in Christ, 
dear sirs and friends ! I have received the letters from you 
all, and from them learnt the state of affairs among you. That 
you may in return know how we fare, I inform you that we, 
namely, myself, Magister Veit and Cyriacus, 3 do not proceed 
to the Diet to Augsburg ; we have, nevertheless, come to 
another diet. There is, namely, immediately below our win- 
dow, a bushy close, like a little forest, to which the jackdaws 
and crows have convoked a diet ; here there is such a coming 
and going, such a clamour day and night without ceasing, as 
if they were all intoxicated and mad ; here young and old 
chatter through one another, that I am surprised how voice 
and breath can endure so long. And I would like to know 
whether any of such nobility and troops remain with you ; it 
seems to me as if they were assembled here from all parts of 
the world. Their emperor I have not yet seen, but as to their 
other nobility and great Jacks, they are continually hovering 
and parading before our eyes, not arrayed very splendidly, but 
in one simple uniform colour, all equally black and all equally 
grey-eyed ; they all sing the same song, with the agreeable va- 
riation, however, of young and old, large and small. They 
Lave no regard either for great palaces and saloons, for their 

25 



386 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION* 



saloon is vaulted with the beautiful extended sky, and their 
floor is the simple field overlaid with beautiful green boughs ; 
the walls also reach to the ends of the world. Neither do 
they at all concern themselves about steeds and armour, they 
have winged wheels, with which they escape from the rifle, 
and are enabled to deliver themselves from wrath. They are 
great mighty lords, but what they are decreeing 1 do not yet 
know. As much, however, as I can ascertain frGm an inter- 
preter, they have in contemplation a mighty expedition, and 
war against wheat, barley, oats, and all manner of corn and 
grain, and many a one no doubt will become a knight, and 
perform valorous deeds here. Thus we sit here in the diet, 
listen and behold with great delight and pleasure, how the 
princes, and lords, and other estates of the realm sing so joy- 
fully and live so cheerily. But it affords us especial joy to 
behold them switching their tails so valiantly, wiping their 
beaks and tilting their arms, that they may gain victory and 
honour in their wars against corn and malt. We wish them 
success and prosperity, that they may all be impaled on a 
hedge-pole. I conceive, however, that they are only the soph- 
ists and papists, with their preaching and writing, whom I am 
obliged to have all in a crowd here before me, that I may hear 
their lovely voices and sermons, and see what an exceedingly 
useful people they are, in consuming everything that is upon 
the earth, and then in return chattering for the whole world. 
To-day we heard the first nightingale, for it did not venture to 
trust April. Thus far the weather has been most delightful, 
there having been no rain at all, except a little yesterday; 
with you, perhaps, it is different. Herewith adieu, and do you 
keep good house. From the diet of the Malt-Turks, April the 
28th, of the year 1530." 

Soon, however, Luther could proceed to his labours, and he 
so earnestly applied himself to the translation of the prophets, 
that he hoped to finish them all by Whitsuntide. His outer 
man, however, was unable to bear up under this exertion of 
his inner man. If before already he had suffered from a pain 
in his thigh, he now became subject to such a buzzing and 
even thundering in his head, that he would have fainted under 
it, if it had not soon ceased. For three days he could not en- 
dure to look at a letter. "It will no longer do," he wrote to 
Melanchthon, " age is coming apace ; " and he accordingly 
exhorted him to take a warning from him, and not also to ruin 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



887 



his head, but to bestow upon his body the necessary gare, in 
order that he might not become a murderer, and imagine that it 
happened in obedience to God's will. That God could be 
served also by resting, 

Melanchthon, on the other hand, was greatly concerned for 
Luther. He besought Luther's associate, Veit Dietrich, to en- 
deavour, by means of conversation, and in every possible way, 
to prevent Luther from retiring to bed engaged with such me- 
lancholy thoughts, "although I know," added he, "that that 
which troubles him is not of such a nature as to permit his 
mind to be drawn away from it by such human means. We 
must therefore betake ourselves to prayer." And soon after- 
wards he again prayed him, to urge the Doctor to take care 
of his health and to labour less. Thathe would in this wayren- 
r der a service to the whole Church. The elector also wrote to 
Luther, that he and all of them were greatly concerned for 
him because of his health, and prayed God that he would long 
preserve him, for the sake of his dear Word : exhorted him also 
by all means to take care of his health, and said that his private 
physician, Dr. Casper, sent him medicine, in order with it to 
strengthen his head and his heart ; that he should content 
himself at Coburg, and not let the time appear long to him. 

Luther had frequently to complain of the buzzing in his head, 
and of the hinderance it proved to him, till finally, on the 1 5th 
August, he could inform his dear Kate, that he had been free 
from it for several days. Spiritual trials he also had to en- 
counter as he, on the 12th May, wrote to Melanchthon: "On 
the day on which I received thy letters from Nuremberg, there 
was an embassy of Satan with me. I was alone, Veit and Cy- 
riacus were absent, and he succeeded in so far gaining the 
mastery over me, that he drove me from my apartment and 
forced me to go out among men. In such trials he repeatedly 
desired absolution from the pastor of the place, John Karg, and 
was comforted through the holy sacrament ; he afterwards also 
often praised this his confession, through whose instruction the 
Lord Christ had so effectually refreshed him. He also began to 
conceive that his hour was not distant, and selected a spot for 
himself, where they should bury him. In the chapel, beneath 
the cross, he thought, he would lie. 

On the 5th June, he received the information concerning the 
death of his dear father, which had occurred eight days pre- 
vious. Luther had already at Wittenberg heard that he was 



?88 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



dangerously ill ; and because his friends advised him against 
incurring the danger of a journey to him, he had, under date of 
the 18th February, written a letter of consolation and de- 
spatched Cyriacus to him, to see whether his weakness would 
permit them to bring him and the mother to Wittenberg, as 
also his Kate with tears desired. " Herewith," thus concluded 
this letter, " I commend you to Him, who loves you more dearly 
than you love yourself, and has manifested such love, in taking 
your sin upon Himself and cancelling it with His blood, mak- 
ing it known to you through the Gospel, and enabling you, 
through His holy Spirit, to believe it, thus confirming and seal- 
ing everything most positively, so that you have no need of 
being concerned or of troubling yourself about anything, except 
that with your heart you firmly and confidently abide in his 
Word and faith. If you do this, then leave all to Him, He will 
direct all well, yea, He has already directed it in the best way, 
more than we can comprehend. May the same, our dear Lord 
and Saviour, be ever with you, that (whether, in the pleasure 
of God, it be here or in the next life) we may again see each 
other with joy. For our faith is assured of it, and we do not 
doubt, but that we shall shortly again see each other with 
Christ, since the departure from this life is more insignificant 
before God, than if I removed from Mansfeld hither from you, 
or you from Wittenberg to Mansfeld from me. This is certainly 
true, it is only an hour of sleep and all will be changed." 
Luther was indeed greatly grieved at the death of his father ; 
the information, nevertheless, comforted him, that he had 
gently fallen asleep, firmly believing in Christ. " I now," he 
wrote, " enter upon the inheritance of his name, since I am now 
almost the oldest Luther in my family. It therefore also 
becomes me, not accidentally but of right, through death to 
follow him into the kingdom of Christ, which may he in mercy 
grant unto us all, for whose sake we are the most wretched of 
men, and a reproach of the whole world. I therefore yield to 
sorrow and write no more to-day, for it is just and right, that 
I, as son, should bewail such a father, through whom the 
Father of Mercies has created me, through whose arduous 
labours he has sustained me, and caused me to become what 
I am. This rejoices mo, that his life was prolonged to this 
time, and he was permitted to behold the light of the truth. 
Praised be God in all his works and counsels, forever. Amen." 
Luther was much visited at Coburg. Thus, for instance, 



MAEU LFT1H11ER, 
Martin LtriJxer's Father 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



389 



Martin Bucer came to him with the consent of the elector, to 
treat with him concerning a union on the article of the Lord's 
Supper : and Luther observed, that he should not be wanting, 
as regarded love and union, if the Zwinglians only taught 
the truth in accordance with God's Word, and forsook their 
subtile and dubious explanations ; upon which Bucer in good 
friendship departed. He was further visited by Urbanus 
Regius on his journey to Zelle, whither he had been called, 
and who related concerning this visit : " At Coburg I spent a 
whole day with Luther, the man of God, and I never, in all 
my life, spent a more delightful day. For Luther is so mighty 
a theologian, that there scarcely ever has been one like him. 
I always thought highly of Luther, but now I think still more 
highly of him; for I myself have been present, and have seen 
and heard what no pen can describe to those absent. Luther's 
books indicate his spirit, but when you shall yourself have 
been present, and better observed him, and have heard him, 
with an apostolical spirit, discoursing on divine things, you 
will say : It is true, what they say, Luther is greater, than that 
he could or should be judged by a conceited sciolist. He still 
remains a theologian for the whole world, that I know. I 
know him better now, than before I myself had heard and seen 
him," Luther himself was not pleased with these frequent 
visits. When, one day, John Reineck, of Mansfeld, and George 
Romer, and on the next Argula von Stauffen had been with 
him, he thought that the pilgimage was becoming too great, 
and that the prince might perhaps not be pleased with it, 
wherefore he resolved to betake himself elsewhere for a day 
or so, to give occasion for the report that he was not here 
any longer, and he also begged his friends at Augsburg thus to 
speak and to write. 4 

The first thing which Luther wrote at Coburg was his 
" Admonition to the clergy assembled at the Diet at Augsburg" 
In it he says, by way of introduction : That beeause it did not 
behoove him personally to appear at this Diet, he had resolved, 
besides his presence in the spirit through prayer and supplica- 
tion, also by means of writing, to be present among them, 
through this his mute and weak message. And that he did this 
because his conscience urged him, earnestly and cordially to 
pray, entreat, and exhort them all, not to neglect or to misuse 
this Diet, since God was through the emperor giving grace, 
space, time and occasion, for accomplishing much and great good 



890 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



at this Diet, if they only were disposed to accomplish it. But that 
if this Diet should end without something upright being accom- 
plished, every person would become weary of promises and de- 
lay. For that matters could not continue in the same posture 
in which they were now, especially as regarded the spiritual 
estates and affairs. 

As* he then passes over to the subjects which ought to en- 
gage their attention at this Diet, he says: "And in the first 
place, you are not to treat concerning me or those of the same 
faith with me ; for the true Helper and Counsellor has brought 
us and our cause so far, and put us into such a posture, that 
we need no diet, counsel, nor master for ourselves, nor will we 
receive any from you, since we know that you cannot direct 
matters better, yea, not as well." . . . " Not as if we were per- 
fect and had attained everything; but that we have the true 
rule, (as St. Paul says,) the true way and the right beginning 
in our favour, and there is no deficiency in doctrine, let the life 
be as it may. But for you and for the unhappy people, who 
are yet wholly uninstructed, or at least in doubt among you, 
we are concerned, and would here by all means willingly as- 
sist with prayer and exhortation, as much as we possibly can. 
For I am apprehensive that you will forget your office, and the 
humility to be observed towards God, and, making the strings 
too tense, and spurring the willing horse too much, cause an- 
other insurrection, so that we both come into distress and trou- 
ble together, as before." That the spirit of Munzer, which had 
come upon them as a scourge, because through their counsels 
the fair expectations which had been formed, in reference to 
former diets, had been disappointed, was still alive. "It is 
meant for you more than for us, although he is more inimical 
to us than he is to you ; but we have a defence against him, 
God be praised forever. Would to God, you had it also, name- 
ly, the pure Word and upright prayer. So you also know how 
faithfully and firmly we have resisted all factious spirits, and 
if I might boast, I would almost say, that we have been your 
protectors, and that it is through us that you have thus far con- 
tinued to be what you still are." 

But that, because it had been forgotten, what the condition 
of the world was, at the time when his doctrine began, and 
because all now plead innocent of all charges of guilt, he was 
constrained to produce the old masks, and to remind the clergy 
of their neglected virtues, that they might see what the condi- 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 391 

tion of the world would have been if his doctrine had not come. 
He then begins with the point, with which his doctrine had be- 
gun, namely, with indulgences, and then further treats of con- 
fession, of penance, of hired or private masses, of excommuni- 
cation, of both kinds in the sacrament, of celibacy. " In short " 
says he, in concluding the last article, " we all know that you 
live without God's Word, but we have God's Word. There- 
fore our most anxious wish and most humble prayer is, that 
you would render honour to God, learn to know yourselves, re- 
pent and reform. If you will not do so, then take me : if I live, 
I will be your plague, if I die, I will be your death : 5 for God 
has set me against you, I must, as Hosea says, be to you as a 
bear and lion in the way of Assur, you shall never have any 
rest for my name, till you reform or perish." 

Upon this he makes the following proposition : " Therefore 
we offer you the choice : Firstly, because you, at any rate, 
neither can nor wish to discharge the duties of the episcopal 
office, for truly neither yourselves nor any of your learned men 
are qualified to preach or to afford comfort and instruction to 
the consciences; therefore, do at least leave your office, the 
duties of which you ought to discharge, to us, permitting us 
freely to preach the Gospel and to serve the unhappy people 
who desire to become pious ; do not persecute and oppose that 
which you cannot perform, and yet are bound to perform, and 
which others wish to perform for you. In the second place, 
we shall not desire anything beyond this of you, and shall not 
take salaries from you ; but shall leave it to God to provide for 
us in some other way, so that you are thus exempted both from 
the labour and the reward, the trouble and the expense. Not 
as if we took such great delight in preaching, for, to speak for 
myself, there would be no message more agreeable to me, than 
that which would discharge me from the ministerial office; so 
weary I must confess myself to be of it, because of the great 
ingratitude among the people, 6 and much more because of the 
insufferable burden, which Satan and the world impose upon 
me. But the unhappy souls dare not be neglected ; so there 
also is one, who is called Jesus Christ, who says No to it, him 
I justly obey, for he has deserved much more from me. So you 
yourselves all know, God be praised, that the Lutheran preach- 
ers are pious and do you no injury, but are more useful to you 
than all the pope's learned men. More pious heretics you 
never have had, nor ever will have ; pray to God, that they 



392 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



may always remain so to you. In the third place, we shall 
suffer you to remain what you are. and will teach, as we also 
have done heretofore, that you should be permitted to be prin- 
ces and lords, and this for the sake of peace, and that your 
possessions should be left to you, which the Hussites and Wick- 
lefites refused, and which all fanatics and Factious spirits still 
refuse ; so that you may see that } r ou have in us not enemies, 
but great friends, and even protectors. For what injury results 
to us from your being princes and lords? If you will not do 
for yourselves, for your station and office, what is right, be- 
hold, not we, but you shall have to render an account there- 
for ; but it is your duty to preserve peace and to cease to per- 
secute us. We ask no more, and never have asked for more 
than the free Gospel. You can assist us, and we you, to ac- 
quire peace. If you will not do it, we relain the honour, and 
you lose both peace and honour. In the fourth place, you may 
again establish the episcopal constraint, (if you suffer the Gos- 
pel to be free,) and I shall, for my part, actively assist and ad- 
vise you in this, that you may have something at least of the 
episcopal office. And thus you would have two parts of the 
episcopal office, one, that we and the preachers would, in your 
stead, make known the Gospel. The other, that you would 
assist in maintaining this with episcopal constraint. Your 
person, life, and princely character, we would leave to your 
consciences and the judgment of God; neither have we thus 
far deprived you of such constraint, you yourselves have suf- 
fered it to decline. For when you could not, by means of it, 
maintain indulgences and other insufferable abuses, you suffer- 
ed it wholly to decline, refusing to protect our Gospel, or even 
to endure it, but directing such constraint against us and 
against the Gospel, so that it had necessarily to meet with re- 
sistance and to become dull, for God has not appointed it 
against his Word, but for it." 

Having now shown that he could make no further and high- 
er overtures, and having further contrasted with one another 
"the points which necessarily must be treated of in the true 
Christian Church in which we are," and the " points which 
were in practice and use in the false Church" : he once more 
exhorts them earnestly to call upon God, that He would grant 
them grace and wisdom, so to act and to proceed in these im- 
portant matters, as to promote His honour and our salvation, 
and then concludes : " But if you arc resolved violently, obsti- 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



303 



nately and perversely to carry through your measures (which 
may God forbid,) I, with all that believe with me, herewith 
declare before God and all the world, that it will not be 
chargeable to us, if your pride should involve you in ruin, that 
you utterly perish. Your blood shall be upon your own heads, 
we are and will be innocent of your blood and condemnation, 
for we have sufficiently pointed out to you your iniquity, faith- 
fully admonished you to repent, earnestly prayed and shown 
ourselves ready for everything that was promotive of peace, 
seeking and desiring nothing else than the only comfort of our 
souls, the pure Gospel, so that we can with a good conscience 
boast of not having been in fault ourselves. But the God of 
peace and comfort give you his Spirit, to guide and to direct 
you to all truth, through our dear Lord Jesus Christ, to whom 
be praise and thanks for all his unspeakable grace and gifts, 
forever. Amen." 

In his principal labour, to finish the translation of the pro- 
phets into German, Luther was constrained, at times, in order 
to spare his head, to pause and to rest. Thus he was able to 
complete Hosea by taking advantage of the hours and sunny 
moments for this purpose. Ezekiel he was obliged, on account 
of his suffering, for a while, to lay wholly aside. In these in- 
tervals he penned his thoughts concerning several Psalms, 7 
firstly, concerning the 18th Psalm, concerning which, in the 
dedication to the Abbot Frederick, at Nuremberg, he says : " It 
is my psalm which I love. Although the whole Psalter and 
the holy Scriptures are also most dear to me, I have still 
become particularly attached to this psalm, so that it must be 
called mine. For truly it has very often nobly served me, and 
delivered me from many and great distresses, from which 
neither emperors nor kings, nor the wise, nor the prudent, nor 
the sainls, could have delivered me. And it is more dear to 
me than the honour, possessions, and power of the pope, the 
Turks, the emperor, or all the world. I would most unwilling- 
ly exchange with any of them for this psalm. But if any one 
should deem me singular for calling this psalm my psalm, 
whilst it is common to all the world ; let him know that this 
psalm is not taken from any one, by the fact that it is mine. 
Christ also is mine, and yet remains the same Christ to all the 
saints. 1 wish not to be envious, but joyfully to communicate. 
And would to God that all the world might thus claim this 
psalm for its own, as I claim it: that should be the most 



394 THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 

friendly strife, to which no harmony or love could be com- 
pared. There are few, alas, even among those of whom above 
others it should be expected, who, in all their life-time, from 
their heart could say to the holy Scriptures, or to any psalm j 
Thou art my dear book, thou shalt be my own psalm !" 

Further, because he perceived how the common people were 
so negligent in their support of the schools, and how they drew 
their children from the doctrine, and directed all their atten- 
tion to the gaining of a livelihood ; he wrote a sermon to those 
preachers " who love Christ in truth," that they should exhort the 
people to send their children to school, which sermon increased 
under his hands and almost became a book, " although," said 
he in the dedication to Lazarus Spengler, "I was under the 
necessity of forcibly restraining myself, lest it might become 
altogether too large ; so abundantly rich is this theme." In it 
he treats, firstly, of the spiritual, and then of the temporal or 
worldly advantage and injury flowing from the promotion or 
the neglect of schools, complains of the perverseness and in- 
gratitude of the Germans, and prays that God would take him 
hence, and not suffer him to witness the distress which would, 
in consequence, come upon Germany. "I conceive, however," 
says he at the same time, "that the government is in duty 
bound here, even to compel the people to have their children 
to attend school, especially those of whom we spoke above. 
For it is certainly in duty bound to preserve the aforesaid 
offices and stations, so that there may always be preachers, 
jurists, pastors, scribes, physicians, school-teachers, and the 
like ; for these cannot be dispensed with. If it can compel 
those of its subjects that can do so, to take up the spear and 
the rifle, to station themselves upon the walls, and to perform 
other duties in case of war; how much more can it not and 
should it not, here compel its subjects to send their children to 
school, because here truly there is a worse warfare with the 
malicious Satan, whose object is thus, unawares, to exhaust 
the cities and principalities, and to deprive them of able men, 
till he has bored out the kernel and suffered nothing but the 
mere shell of wholly useless people to remain, with whom to 
be able to play and to amuse himself at his pleasure." "There- 
fore," says he in conclusion, "watch here, who can watch. 
Let the government, where it finds a promising boy, cause him 
to be sent to school. If his father is poor, let the church pro- 
perty come to his aid. Towards this object let the rich make 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



395 



their bequests, as those have done who have founded several 
stipends ; thus you would becomingly devote your money to 
the Church. Here you do not deliver the souls of the dead 
from purgatory, but by the maintenance of the divine offices 
you prevent both the living and those not yet born from 
coming into purgatory, yea, you promote their deliverance 
from hell, and ascension to heaven, and cause the living to 
have peace and convenience ; that would be a praiseworthy, 
Christian bequest, in which God would take delight and plea- 
sure, and would, in return, bless and honour thee, that thou 
shouldest also have delight and joy in Him. Behold, my dear 
countrymen, I have sufficiently warned you, you have heard 
your prophet. God grant that we may follow his Word, to the 
praise and honour of our dear Lord, for His precious blood so 
graciously shed for us, and preserve us from the shocking vice 
of ingratitude and forgetfulness of His benefits. Amen." 

So Luther, in like manner, wrote "An exhortation to partake 
of the sacrament of the body and blood of our Lord," because he, 
with great grief, perceived, that the people now esteemed the 
holy sacrament so lightly, as if there were nothing upon earth 
which they needed Jess, imagining that as they were now 
delivered from papal constraint, they could despise it without 
thereby committing sin, and because he feared that this was, 
in a great measure, owing to the preachers and pastors, who 
permitted the people thus to live on in their indifference, and 
did not admonish them, but were asleep, whilst they, neverthe- 
less, were to be angels and watchmen of our Lord Christ 
against Satan, who also was not idle, but went about with his 
angels day and night, assailing, restraining, hindering the peo- 
ple, and making them slothful to every service of God. There- 
fore, says he, 1 wish this to be a most fraternal, diligent, and 
serious entreaty, both to myself and to all pastors and 
preachers, that they would herein with me, exercise diligent 
care for the people, whom God having, through the blood of 
His Son, purchased them, and called and brought them to 
baptism and to His kingdom, has committed to us, and for 
whom He will demand a very strict account, as we well 
know. And now he, for the benefit of those who cannot do 
better, gives directions how the people are to be induced, 
willingly and without restraint, to come to the sacrament, and 
with pleasure to receive it. 

At the same time Luther, being provoked through vehement 



393 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



writings of the papists, deemed it necessary again to turn hi3 
weapons against them, in order that they might at least know 
why they thus raved. "Because I perceive," he wrote, " that 
the sophists, now most diligently, with much brawling and 
clamour, venture to conceal their false preaching and shocking 
abominaiions, by means of which they have brought destruc- 
tion upon Christendom, whilst they adorn themselves as if they 
had never been guilty of the least impropriety, hoping that, 
because we have for some time past observed silence towards 
them, and fought against the sectarians, to be able, meanwhile, 
to sneak along and to creep forth from their disgrace, and to 
make all their blasphemous doctrines and practices forgotten, 
thus attempting, without repentance and reformation, un- 
awares and impudently, gradually again to introduce all their 
devilish doctrines ; I am constrained in opposition, again to 
draw forth the old catalogue, and again to bring their praise- 
worthy virtue out to the light, so that it may not decay in so 
black a state, but be well bleached, and be not so readily for- 
gotten as they hope." ..." And by way of beginning, I will, 
in the first place, take up the subject of purgatory, and expose 
their shameful falsehoods ; for thus far I have not written any- 
thing particular against it." This occasioned the treatise : 
" Recantation of purgatory" and soon after followed the one : 
"Concerning the Keys," which he wrote for the purpose of 
pointing out some of the shocking abuses of the dear keys, 
which had come so prevalent in Christendom, that there was 
scarcely a place in which the proper use and understanding 
had been preserved; and further he wished, as Christ said, to 
aid in gathering up such stumbling-blocks out of His kingdom, 
that posterity might see what the condition of affairs had been 
in Christendom, and might in future guard against such dis- 
tress, learning rightly to know and to use the keys. 

Finally, in September, he also wrote a " Missive concerning 
translating" and " Concerning the intercession of the saints" 
and in the former, pointed out in particular why he had ren- 
dered the passage, Rom. iii. 28, into German as follows: We 
conclude that a man is justified ONLY by f nth, without the deeds 
of the law, because the papists were making a great ado about 
it and said, that the word only was not contained in the text of 
Paul, and that this addition of Luther's was not to be tolerated 
in God's Word. To which he replied : That this was the mean- 
ing of the text, although those four letters {only) were not con- 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



397 



tained in it, and if a distinct and full rendering of the text was 
to be given, this word was requisite. He besides, also appeals 
to the example of the fathers, and says, that the danger of 
those people who continued to cleave to works and failed of 
faith, demanded it. 8 

At times, when he was weak, he also amused himself with 
the Fables of iEsop, took them up and also published several 
of lhem in German, with a preface, in which he highly extols 
the book of fables, and says : " Wise and great men have in- 
vented the fables, permitting one animal to discourse to the 
other, as if they would say : Behold, no one is willing to hear 
or to endure the truth, and yet we cannot dispense with it ; 
therefore we will adorn it and clothe it in a delightful mask 
and pleasing fables, and because men refuse to hear it from 
men, they shall at least, hear it from animals and brutes. Thus 
it happens then, when the fables are read, that one animal 
holds up the truth to the other, one wolf to the other, yea, that 
the pictured wolf, bear, or lion, in the book, sometimes secretly 
reads an excellent lecture to the true biped, wolf and lion, 
which no preacher, friend or foe, durst read to him." There- 
fore, he says furiher, he had taken up this book to give it a 
somewhat better form than it had thus far had, chiefly because 
of the youth, that they might the more willingly learn, and 
abidingly remember, such admirable instruction and warning, 
being conveyed in the pleasing form of fables, as in an amus- 
ing play. That the German ^Esop, as formerly published, w^as 
a very uncouth book, and besides, there were in it such shame- 
*ful and unbecoming additions, that no chaste, pious person 
could endure it, and no young person could hear or read it 
without danger. That the same should therefore be banished, 
and this one used in its stead ; that he intended also, if God 
permitted, to prune and to expurgate what other useful and 
harmless fables there were, that it might become a delightful 
and attractive, as well as an honourable, chas e, and useful 
iEsop, which might, without sin, be admired and used, to warn 
and to instruct children and servants with regard to their 
future life and conduct, for which purposes it had originally 
been invented and composed. 

But diligently as Luther laboured at Cobur°r, so diligently 
he also prayed. " For inasmuch as this Diet," Mathesius 
writes, ** was directed chiefly against Dr. Luther's doctrine, 
and against those who assisted in preaching this doctrine, or 



398 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



who adopted it as true in their dominions and cities, as the 
books of the Roman doctors in reference to this matter clearly 
demonstrate : our Dr. also was at his post, like Moses, when 
he sent his faithful servant Joshua to war against king Ama- 
lek. For Dr. Luther also held in his hand the staff and rod of 
God, and came before the face of God, and, in the knowledge 
of the Lord Jesus Christ, lifted up his holy and weary hands, 
with which he had severely borne down and weakened the 
papacy, and cried day and night to God, that he would main- 
tain the honour of his name, his holy Gospel and kingdom, 
and preserve in the true faith and pure doctrine the true Josh- 
uites and German knights, who, together with the angels, 
were at Augsburg waging war against Antichrist, and strength- 
en and comfort them with his Holy Spirit, and guard them 
and protect them through his angels ; so also did all true 
Christians at that time, in the whole Roman empire, in all the 
schoofs and churches, faithfully assist Dr. Luther and his 
friends with their cries and sighs ; and indeed Christ, the eter- 
nal protector and guardian of his Church, upon whose word, 
blood, merits and oath Dr. Luther laid his hands, and based 
and offered up his prayer, also assisted with earnest and un- 
speakable sighs, repeating his eternal prayer before his God 
and Father." 

Veit Dietrich, Luther's associate at Coburg, thus wrote to 
Augsburg to his teacher Melanchthon concerning it : "I can- 
not sufficiently admire this man's noble constancy, joyful cou- 
rage, faith and hope, in these distressing times ; he, however, 
also, without ceasing, sustains them by a careful considera- 
tion of God's Word. No day passes on which he does not 
spend at least three hours, and these the most suitable for 
study, in prayer. Once I had the good luck to hear him pray : 
good God ! what faith was there in his words ! He prayed 
with such reverence, that it was manifest he spoke with God, 
and yet again with such faith and such hope, that it seemed 
as if he were speaking with a father or a friend. " I know," 
said he, " that thou art our God and Father. I am certain, 
therefore, that thou wilt bring to nought the persecutors of 
thy children ; if thou dost not do it, the danger is thine as well 
as ours. Surely the whole matter is thy own ; so we also 
have been constrained to enter upon it, thou mayest therefore 
protect it," &c. Thus I heard him pray in a distinct voice, 
whilst I stood at a distance. My heart also burnt within me 



THE STRUGGLES 01* THE REFORMATION. 



399 



with great zeal when I heard him addressing God so confident- 
ly, seriously, and devoutly, and in his prayer so urgently in* 
sisting upon the promises in the Psalms, as being certain that 
that for which he prayed would be accomplished. Therefore 
I doubt not but that his prayer will be of great service in the 
desperately difficult business of this Diet." 

Amidst such daily and fervent prayer, Dr. Luther wrote 
many excellent, spirited, and peaceable counsels and letters to 
his elector, and the embassies of the Lord Christ to Augsburg. 

The articles which Luther, at the desire of the elector, had 
drawn up in reference to the disputed points in religion, Me- 
lanchthon had further reviewed and reduced to a definite form. 
When now they were transmitted to Luther by the elector, in 
order that he might again review and consider them, and at 
the same time state what he conceived should be subtracted 
or added, he replied : " I have perused the apology by M. 
Philip ; it pleases me quite well, and I have nothing to im- 
prove or to alter, nor would it be proper to do so, for I cannot 
step so softly and gently. May Christ our Lord make it pro- 
ductive of much and abundant fruit, as we hope and pray. 
Amen." He at the same time replied to the question : What 
would have to be done if the emperor should enjoin silence 
upon the preachers whom the evangelical estates had brought 
with them ? That the emperor was Lord, and the city was 
his ; that they durst not resist him, just as the elector was not 
to be resisted, if he should desire to have this or that omitted 
at Torgau. That suitable efforts might indeed be made to 
turn the emperor from his design of preventing the preaching 
without a hearing ; but that if this did not succeed, they would 
have to permit power to take the place of right, and then 
they would be excused. 

Soon after (the 20th May) he returned his thanks to the 
elector for so graciously remembering him and caring for him. 
(See above, p. 387.) But that this was not necessary. " Time 
truly does not hang heavily upon my hands," he wrote ; " we 
live like lords, and these weeks have coursed away so rapidly 
for me, that they scarcely seem three days to me. But your 
electoral grace is, and must now be in a wearisome place, and 
may our dear Father in heaven grant that your heart may 
firmly and patiently abide in his grace, which he so abundant- 
ly bestows upon us." He then comforts the elector, and says, 
that he must by all means submit to such trouble, expense, 



400 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION". 



danger, and wearisomeness, purely for the sake of God's Word, 
that the enemies might not be able to bring any other charge 
against him, but the pure, precious, living Word of God. But 
that this was a sign of God's loving him, that he so richly 
granted him his Word, and deemed him worthy to suffer re- 
proach and enmity on account of it. " Besides this," he con- 
tinued, " a merciful God shows himself even more gracious, 
by causing his Word to be so mighty and fruitful in the do- 
minions of your electoral grace. For truly, in the dominions 
of your electoral grace more than in any other country in the 
world, are to be found the best and the most good pastors and 
preachers, who most faithfully preach the pure doctrine, and 
assist in preserving so admirable a peace. The tender youth, 
male and female, now grow up so well instructed in the cate- 
chism and the Scriptures, that my heart delights to behold 
how the boys and girls are able to pray, to exercise their 
faith, and to speak more of God and of Christ than all the in- 
mates of convents, cloisters, and schools formerly could, or 
can even now. Truly, such young people form a beautiful 
paradise in the dominion of your electoral grace, the like of 
which there is not in the world besides. And all this God has 
done in the vicinity of your electoral grace, as an evidence 
that he is graciously disposed towards your electoral grace. 
As if he would say : Behold, dear Duke John, here I commit 
to thee my noblest treasure, my delightful paradise: thou 
shalt preside over them as father, for under thy name, pro- 
tection, and government I wish them to be, and I confer the 
honour upon thee to be my gardener and steward. This is 
certainly true ; for the Lord God, who has appointed your 
electoral grace to be the father and guardian of this country, 
supplies them all through the office and service of your elec- 
toral grace, and all have to eat the bread of your electoral 
grace. But that is precisely the same as if God himself were 
the daily guest and recipient of your electoral grace, because 
his Word, and his children who have his Word, are the daily 
guests and recipients of your electoral grace." 

With these and other words he comforted the elector; the 
^landgrave, on the other hand, he admonished by no means to 
suffer himself to be influenced by the sweet and agreeable 
words of the sacramentarians, since it was dangerous to re- 
ceive such new doctrine, in opposition to clear and manifest 
texts, and the plain words of Christ, and to forsake the estab- 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



401 



lished faith, thus far from the beginning preserved throughout 
Christendom, for such insufficient passages and imaginations 
as they had till then produced, which could not satisfy the con- 
science against such clear words of Christ, the adversaries 
themselves not being able to quiet their own consciences with 
them. 

With his friends at Augsburg, Luther was greatly dissatis- 
fied in June, because of their not at all writing to him, whilst 
they certainly knew how he in this wilderness thirsted for 
their letters, and he became so displeased at his " silent 
knights at Augsburg," that, as Veit Dietrich had written to 
Melanchthon, he was now wholly unwilling to read their let- 
ters ; he, however, himself thought that this was no time for 
revenge. Melanchthon was at that time very much tormented 
with cares ; but Luther wrote to him that he exceedingly 
hated such cares. " That they thus rule in thy heart," he ex- 
claimed to him, " is caused, not by the greatness of this busi- 
ness, but by the greatness of our unbelief ; for this very busi- 
ness was greater at the time of John Huss, and many others, 
than at our time. But let it be as great as it may, He also is 
great who conducts it, and from whom it proceeds, for it is not 
our cause. Why, therefore, dost thou torment thyself thus 
without ceasing ? If the cause is false, let us recant ; but if 
it is true, why do we charge Him with falsehood, who with so 
many promises commands us to be quiet, and calmly to wait. 
Cast thy care upon the Lord ; the Lord is near to all who are 
of a broken heart when they call upon Him. Does He speak 
that to the wind, or cast it before brutes ? I, indeed, am often 
moved, but not always. Thy philosophy torments thee thus, 
not thy theology, precisely that which seems also to vex thy 
Joachim, (Camerarius.) As if with these your unprofitable 
cares you could accomplish anything. What can the devil 
do more than kill us ? What ? I ask. I pray thee, since thou 
so .nobly strugglest in all other respects, struggle also against 
thyself, thy greatest enemy, who supplies Satan with so many 
weapons against thee. Christ has once died for our cause, 
but for righteousness and truth he will not die, but lives and 
rules." That he himself, whether from foolishness or spirit,. # 
was not very much disturbed with regard to this matter, yea, 
that he entertained better hopes than at first ; but that if he 
should hear of the business proceeding badly with them, or 

26 



402 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



of its being in danger, he would scarcely be able to refrain 
from flying to them. 

On the 27th June, Melanchthon informed Luther of the de- 
livery of the confession, sent him a copy of it. and begged his 
opinion as to how far they could yield to the adversaries. To 
this Luther replied on the 29th : " As regards the elector, it is 
a different question as to what he can yield, in case of danger 
to himself. For my part, there is fully enough yielded in this 
apology, and I do not know what I could yield further, if they 
will not admit this, unless they should produce clearer rea- 
sons and passages than they have done thus far. I employ 
myself day and night upon this matter, think, reflect, dispute, 
and peruse the Holy Scriptures from beginning to end, and I 
continually become more joyful in this our doctrine, and more 
and more certain, so that by the grace of God, I shall now 
not suffer them to take anything further from me, come what 
may." In a postscript he nevertheless observes, that Melanch- 
thon would probably not be satisfied with this answer to his 
question, but that it had not been possible for him to answer 
differently, because Melanchthon had not been distinct enough 
with regard to what, and in how far it might be yielded. 
That as a general matter he had always written, that he was 
prepared to yield in everything, if the Gospel only were per- 
mitted to remain free. In this same letter he also expresses 
his disapprobation that Melanchthon had written that they 
had wholly followed his authority in this matter, and says : 
" I do not wish to be your authority in this matter, and though 
even the word may bear a good interpretation, I still cannot 
endure it. If the cause is not at the same time and just as 
much yours, I have no disposition to call it mine, as if it were 
only imposed upon you. If it is my cause alone, 1 will con- 
duct it myself.'' 

Dr. Jonas, who gave Luther a more detailed account of the 
reading of the confession, and of what succeeded it, at the 
same time informed him that Melanchthon was writing arti- 
cles of agreement, which should also be sent to him, and con- 
. jured him to be watchful, and to give his counsel in this so 
important matter, that there might not arise from it any in- 
jury or oppression of conscience for all future times. That 
Philip proceeded to the work with the best intention, careful- 
ly and deliberately, and was yielding much for the sake of 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



403 



peace. He, therefore, in conclusion, begged Luther to write 
to Melanchthon as often as possible, since he was sometimes, 
on account of the general interest, exceedingly sad. There- 
fore Luther already, on the 39th June, wrote the following 
letter of consolation to Melanchthon. 

"Grace and peace in Christ ! I scarcely know, dear Philip, 
what to write to thee, so greatly perplexed am I on account of 
thy unhallowed and foolish cares, for I know that I preach to 
deaf ears. The cause is, that thou believest only thyself, and 
not me and others, to thy great injury. I can say in truth, that 
I have been in greater distress than thou ever wilt be, I trust, 
and I wish no man, not even those who now rave so much 
against us, even if they are knaves and tyrants, to become 
equal to me in this. And notwithstanding this, I have often, 
in such distress, been comforted through the word of a brother ; 
now through Pommer s, now through thine, now through Jo- 
nas', or another's word. Therefore do thou also hear us, who 
do not speak after the flesh or the world, but undoubtedly ac- 
cording to God and the Holy Ghost. Though we are insigni- 
ficant, beloved, do not on any account let Him be insignificant 
who speaks through us. Is it false, then, that God has given 
his Son for us 1 Then may the devil, or one of his creatures, be 
a man in my stead. But if it is true, why then do we burden 
ourselves with pernicious fears, trembling, anxiety, sadness, 
&c. ? Just as if he would not be with us in these little things, 
when he, nevertheless, has given for us his Son, or as if Satan 
were mightier than he. In personal contests I am weaker, but 
thou stronger ; in general things, on the other hand, thou art 
like me in personal, and I am in general things like thee in 
personal, if indeed it can be called a personal matter, what oc- 
curs between me and Satan. For thou esteemest thy own life 
little, and fearest only for the common cause ; but I am very 
confident and calm as regards the common cause, for 1 know 
to a certainty, that it is right and true, yea, that it is the cause 
of Christ and of God, which need not blush on account of one 
single sin, as I, poor sinner, must blush and tremble. There- 
fore I am an entirely calm spectator, and do not at all regard 
the threatenings and ravings of the papists. If we fall, Christ 
falls with us, he, the ruler of the world. And if his fall is ine- 
vitable, I would sooner fall with Christ, than stand with the 
emperor. Nor do you sustain the cause alone. I verily have 
been faithfully at your side with sighs and prayers, would I 



404 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



were permitted also to be with you in the body. For the cause 
concerns me also, even more than you all, and it has not been 
begun from any nefarious design, or for the sake of honour and 
profit, of this the Holy Ghost bears me witness, and the cause 
itself has thus far demonstrated it, and will in future demon- 
strate it to the end. Therefore, I pray thee, for Christ's sake, 
not to discard the divine promises and consolations, when he 
says : " Cast thy care upon the Lord ; wait for the Lord, be of 
good courage and undaunted, and more passages to the same 
import, with which the Psalter and the Gospels are filled. Be of 
good courage, I have overcome the world ! It is not false, of that 
I am assured, that Christ has overcome the world. Why, 
therefore, do we fear the vanquished world, as if it had over- 
come ? Truly, we should joyfully on our knees go to obtain 
such a passage, if it were to Rome or Jerusalem. But because 
there are so many, and those in constant use, they are not re- 
garded. But this is not well. I know, indeed, that this pro- 
ceeds from the weakness of faith, but therefore let us pray 
with the apostles: Lord, increase our faith /" . . . "But in vain 
do I write this, because thou continuest to direct these matters 
according to thy philosophy and reason, that is, as has been 
observed, thou continuest to be mad with reason, and destroy- 
est thyself, whilst thou absolutely refusest to see, that this 
caUse is not left to thy management and counsel, but demands 
to be conducted without thy interference. May God forbid, 
that it should be committed to thy counsel or management, as 
thou, nevertheless, art resolved to have it ; then should we 
soon enough be utterly ruined. But it is written : Strive not 
after that which is too high for thee ; and, An investigator of 
majesty is crushed to the earth by its glory ; or, as the Hebrew- 
text says : He that investigates difficult things, is burdened. 
May the Lord Jesus sustain thee, that thy faith may not cease, 
but increase and overcome. Amen. I pray for thee, have 
prayed for thee, and will pray for thee, and doubt not but that 
I am heard. For I find the Amen in my heart. If that which 
we wish does not come to pass, that will come to pass which 
is better. For truly we look for a future kingdom, even if eve- 
rything here in the world should deceive." Luther also, on 
the same day, despatched letters to Brentius, Agricola, Spala- 
tin, as likewise to Duke John Frederick, all full of exhorta- 
tion and consolation. The Augsburg news, however, he com- 
municated to other friends, at the same time expressing his 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



405 



great joy, that he had lived to see the day when Christ was made 
known by these his noble followers, in such an assembly, by 
means of this most excellent confession. That here the Word 
was fulfilled : / spoke of thy testimonies before kings, and that 
this would also be fulfilled : and was not made ashamed ; for, 
he that confesses me (so He spoke that lieth not) before men, 
him wilWL also confess before my Father, who is in heaven. He 
lamented only that he had not been able to be present at this 
noble confession. 

Of the Archbishop of Mayence, Luther had heard it said, that 
he was earnestly labouring for peace. He, therefore, (under 
date of the 9th June,) addressed to him, as the noblest and 
highest prelate in Germany, a missive, besides a brief explana- 
tion of the 2d Psalm, and published it. In it he says : That 
the elector had undoubtedly heard the Confession of the Evan- 
gelical Party, and their doctrine, which had been so well ex- 
hibited in it, that we might joyfully say of it, with Christ our 
Lord : " If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil, but if 
well, why smitest thou me ? " That it was not to be expected 
that the opponents would receive such doctrine, much less that 
they should venture to refute it ; for that their doctrine could 
not bear the light, and that they were also too much exaspe- 
rated and enraged to permit themselves to yield. That this 
would have to be suffered to be so. " But this I seek, and 
for this purpose I write to your electoral grace, because our 
adversaries cannot find fault with the doctrine, and we by this 
confession clearly testify and demonstrate, that we have not 
taught what is wrong or false, and therefore not deserved to be 
so shamefully condemned, and so cruelly persecuted, as has 
been the case thus far, and still is : whether so much might 
not at least be obtained, that our adversaries would observe 
peace, and not blaspheme thus, and put to death the innocent 
on account of this irreprehensible doctrine, which they them- 
selves are constrained to praise, if by nothing else, by their be- 
ing silenced by it, and having nothing to advance in opposition 
to it. For that they will not be instructed by us, or receive 
our doctrine, we must suffer to pass ; we compel no one to adopt 
even the truth, whilst they compel men to adopt their false- 
hoods. I therefore must submissively pray, since (as has been 
observed) there is no hope of our being united in doctrine, that 
your electoral grace, together with others, would endeavour 
to obtain from the opposite party, that they observe peace, be- 



406 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATIO". 



lieving what they choose, and suffer us also to believe this truth 
as it has now been confessed before their eyes, and been found 
unexceptionable. For it is well known that no person is to be 
or can be compelled to believe, neither emperor nor pope hav- 
ing such power; for God himself even, who has power over 
all things, has never yet wished forcibly to constrain any per- 
son to believe ; why then do his wretched and poor c^atures 
presume to compel men not only to believe the truth, but even 
that which they themselves have to acknowledge to be false?" 
He then expresses the wish that the elector, or some one else, 
might be a Gamaliel, and propose such counsel of peace, if 
God perhaps would grant grace, that the enemies might cease 
from their ravings, and not so perversely strive against their 
conscience and God. " But if neither peace nor unity can 
be obtained, neither the counsel of Gamaliel nor the ex- 
ample of the apostles and the Jews will avail; then suffer 
those to depart who will not remain, and let those rave who 
are resolved to rave ; they will rind wrath and contention, after 
which they strive, in abundance. We, meanwhile, shall, with 
the blessed apostles and disciples, sing, (and of this, verily, 
they shall not prohibit us,) : TVhy do the heathen rage, and the 
nations imagine vain things?'' <fcc. 

Luther, under the same date, comforted the elector with re- 
ference to the prohibition of the preaching at Augsburg, and 
wrote concerning it: "Is it not an admirable manoeuvre and 
cunning device that they compel M. Eisleben and others to ob- 
serve silence ; when instead thereof, the elector of Saxony and 
other princes and lords arise, and boldly preach to his majesty 
and the whole realm, that they are constrained to bear it, and 
cannot say aught in opposition 1 I should think that you are 
well revenged for the prohibition of preaching by this. They 
will not suffer their servants to hear the preachers, but are 
compelled themselves to hear something worse (as they style 
it) from such great princes, and be silent. Christ, truly, is not 
silent at the Diet ; and if they were mad, they are compelled 
to hear more from the confession than they would have heard 
from the preachers in one year. Thus is verified what St. 
Paul says : God's AVord will not be bound. If they prohibit it 
in the pulpits, they must hear it in the palaces. If poor 
preachers dare not declare it, great princes and lords proclaim 
it. In short, when everything is silent, the stones will cry out, 
as Christ himself says. 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



407 



Upon this, at the desire of the elector, he states to him his 
opinion as to what he should answer, in case the emperor 
should attempt to be judge in this matter of faith, and con- 
cludes with the words : " May your electoral grace be of good 
courage. Christ is present, and will again acknowledge your 
electoral grace before his Father, as your electoral grace has 
now confessed Him before this wicked generation, as he says : 
He that honoureth me, him will I honour. The same Lord who 
has begun it will also bring it to a successful issue. Amen. I 
pray for your electoral grace with diligence and earnestness ; 
if I could do more it would be my duty. May the grace of God 
abide with your electoral grace as heretofore, and ever in- 
crease. Amen." 

Luther still hoped, that, by the help of the Lord, general 
peace might be preserved, even if a union in doctrine was not 
to be thought of; that in the latter not one iota could be 
yielded, and on no account could it be suffered to restore 
things to the former condition. He exhorted his friends not to 
despair,, and the more the adversaries raved, the less to yield 
to them. That if they were met with firmness, they would 
also have to think of different measures. And that if they 
should tickle the ears of the evangelical party with their delu- 
sive promise of a council, he would also employ himself with 
them, and appeal from their threats to the never-to-be-con- 
vened-council, that meanwhile peace might be maintained. 
But because the opponents demanded that everything should 
be restored to its former condition till the council, (in statum 
integrum restitui,) he added : " We will also insist upon their 
restoring (restituant) to us Leonhard Kaiser, and many others 
whom they have shamefully put to death. Let them restore 
the many souls whom they have destroyed through their un- 
godly doctrine ; let them restore all the possessions, of which, 
through their fraudulent indulgences and other artifices they 
have robbed mankind ; let them restore that ecclesiastical 
purity in the minds, morals, and hearts of the people, which 
has been so shamefully defiled ! But who can enumerate all 
the wickedness and misery which they have entailed upon 
us?" 

That Luther could not be with his friends, so disturbed him, 
that he would have, from the first, have hastened to them, if he 
had not looked upon it as tempting God to incur the danger of 
such a journey. To a declaration of theirs, that with regard 



408 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



to other things they would soon speak to him face to face, he 
replied on the 13th July: "Do so! You have accomplished 
more than was to be expected, for you have rendered to 
Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that 
are God's : To the emperor complete obedience, in that you 
have appeared with so much expense, trouble and grievance ; 
to God, the chosen sacrifice of the confession, which will force 
its way through to the courts of all kings and princes, that it 
may rule in the midst of its enemies, and be heard in every 
land, in order that those who do not believe may have no ex- 
cuse. This will be the fruit of the silence which was enjoined 
at the beginning of the Diet. If to this is added the reward, 
that according to the testimony of the adversaries, no article of 
faith is violated, we have obtained far more than I had prayed 
for: the reproach of heresy, namely, is taken away. Thus, then, 
may Christ himself acknowledge us, as you have confessed 
Him, and glorify those who have glorified Him. Amen. 
Therefore I, in the name of the Lord, absolve you from this 
assembly. Therefore return home, return i " 

But Luther was soon made to perceive that his hope was a 
vain one, and was compelled to wait still longer, complaining : 
" If you have not enough of the Diet I am surprised, for I am 
weary of it." Many a letter of consolation and exhortation 
was he constrained to write to his friends. To the chancellor, 
George Briick, he wrote as follows : " I recently witnessed two 
miracles : In the first, I, through the window, beheld the stars 
in the heavens, and the whole beautiful arch of God, and yet 
nowhere perceived any pillars upon which the artist had based 
such arch ; yet did the heavens not break down, and this arch 
still stands firm. Now there are some who search for the pil- 
lars, and would like to touch and to feel them. But because 
they cannot do this, they tremble with fear, as if the heavens 
would certainly fall down, for no other reason than that they 
cannot touch or see the pillars. If they could touch them, the 
heavens would stand firm. In the other, I beheld mighty and 
dense clouds hanging over us, of such burden as to be compa- 
rable to a great ocean, and yet I beheld no base for them to 
rest upon, and no vats in which they were contained ; they, 
nevertheless, did not fall upon us, but greeted us with a sour 
aspect and fled away. When they had passed away, there shone 
forth both the base and our roof, which had borne them up, 
the rainbow. That truly was a frail, slight, insignificant base 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



409 



and roof, so that it also disappeared in the clouds, and seemed 
more like a shadowy image, resulting from the light passing 
through a painted glass, than such a mighty base ; thus causing 
one almost to despair as much of the base, as of the great mass 
of water. It nevertheless was established that this (apparently) 
frail image bore up the mass of water and protected us. Yet 
there are some who more regard and fear the mass and heavi- 
ness of the water and the clouds, than this fragile, airy image ; 
for they would like to feel the power of this image, and because 
they cannot do that, they fear that the clouds will occasion an 
eternal flood. 

" Thus I have been constrained, in a friendly way, to jest with 
your honour, and yet to write in seriousness. For it afforded 
me especial joy to learn that your honour were more than all 
the rest of good courage and unwavering confidence in this our 
hour of trial I had indeed hoped, that at least political peace 
might be preserved, but God's thoughts are far above our 
thoughts. And so they should be; for He (says St. Paul) 
hears and does supra quam intelligimus aut petimus, (more than 
we can pray for or understand.) For we know not how to 
pray, Rom. viii. 26. If now he should hear us as we pray, 
that the emperor might grant us peace, it might, perhaps, be 
infra not supra quam intelligimus, and thus the emperor, per- 
haps, and not God, obtain the honour. But now he desires to 
afford us peace himself, that he alone may have the honour, 
which is his due. Not as if we herewith despised his imperial 
majesty, but we pray and desire, that his imperial majesty may 
not undertake anything against God and imperial law. If, 
however, he should do so, (which may God forbid,) we will 
still, as faithful subjects, refuse to believe that his imperial 
majesty is the author, but think that others tyrannically do so 
under the name of his imperial majesty ; and thus distinguish 
between the name of his imperial majesty and the work of the 
tyrants, just as we also distinguish between the name of God, 
which heretics and deceivers employ, and honour the name of 
God, but shun falsehood. Therefore we are not at all to ap- 
prove, and cannot approve, or admit the work of the tyrants, 
done by them under the name of his imperial majesty. But 
the work which God graciously has committed to us, He will, 
through His Spirit, bless and prosper, and unfailingly direct us 
with regard to the mode, time and place, not forgetting or 
neglecting us. They have not yet accomplished the half of 



410 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



what they are now beginning, those viri sanguinum, (men of 
blood,) neither are they all at home again or where they wish 
to be. Our rainbow is weak, their clouds are mighty ; but 
in fine videbitur cujus toni (in the end it will appear of what 
tension.) May your honour excuse my babbling, and comfort 
Magister Philip and all the rest. I also pray Christ to comfort 
our gracious prince, and to sustain him. To God be praise 
and thanks forever. Amen. To his grace I also faithfully 
commend your honour." 

Concerning the question proposed to the evangelical party 
Whether they designed to produce any other articles ? Luther 
observes : " Yes, yes ; Satan still lives and perceives that this 
your gently-stepping apology has passed by the articles con- 
cerning purgatory, concerning the worship of the saints, and, 
above all, concerning the pope, the antichrist. But the empe- 
ror is to be pitied, if he has appointed this Diet in order to 
hear the remonstrances to Luther ! as if they had not already 
enough to reply to in this apology." With Melanchthon he 
corresponded at large concerning traditions : of the proposi- 
tion to retain the private masses as an act of thanksgiving, he 
would hear nothing ; that they always would be dangerous 
and seductive, and in such a matter it did not suffice to say, 
that there was a good intention in it, but it was necessary to 
be able to say : I have God's Word. The menaces and haugh- 
ty demands of the enemies he ridiculed, and called to mind 
the words of his friend Staupitz : " Him whom God designs 
to strike, he first blinds," with the addition : " It truly seems 
to me that he has blinded them;" that an edge too sharp easi- 
ly became notched. He was rejoiced with his friends, that the 
confutation of the Confession, at which Eck and Faber had 
laboured six whole weeks, and which was read on the 3d Au- 
gust, had turned out to be so wretched an affair. But when, 
after the landgrave's sudden and secret departure from the 
Diet, the opponents became more moderate in their demands, 
and began to negociate about an agreement, Luther was at 
his post again. He not only, at the elector's desire, communi- 
cated his opinion concerning the individual points, but also 
faithfully warned his friends. To Spalatin he wrote : " I un- 
derstand that you have reluctantly undertaken the strange 
task of uniting the pope -and Luther; but the pope, I ween, 
will be unwilling, and Luther begs to be excused. Have a 
care that you do not wholly lose your labour. If you accom- 



THE STRUGGLES OP THE REFORMATION. 



411 



plish the matter in opposition to the wishes of both, then 1 
shall soon follow your example, and unite Christ and Belial." 
He was pleased with Melanchthon, that he had not admitted 
it to be a matter of indifference, but a command, to receive 
the Lord's Supper under both kinds. " For it is not in our 
power," added he, " to establish or to tolerate anything in the 
Church of God, or in divine worship, which cannot be defend- 
ed with the Word, and the shameful word indifference my soul 
loathes ; yea, with this word we can easily make all com- 
mands and institutions of God indifferent ; for if we once per- 
mit anything to be indifferent in God's AVord, how shall we 
prevent the rest from becoming indifferent ? " In reference to 
the obedience to be rendered to the bishops, the jurisdiction, 
and common ceremonies, he says : " Do you, nevertheless, be 
on your guard, and do not give more than you have, that we 
may not be anew compelled to wage a more difficult and dan- 
gerous war in defence of the Gospel, I know, indeed, that 
you always except the Gospel in these negotiations, but I fear 
that they will afterwards represent us as faithless and incon- 
stant, if we do not maintain what they wish. For they them- 
selves will take our concessions in the extended, more extend- 
ed, and most extended sense, but confine their own to the nar- 
row, narrower, and narrowest sense. In short, this negotia- 
tion concerning union in doctrine displeases me, for it is wholly 
impossible, as long as the pope will not abolish his papacy." 
To Jonas he also wrote : that he could scarcely say how the 
propositions advanced by the opponents had disturbed him. 
That this was the artifice of Campegius (the legate and car- 
dinal), and of the pope, who, after first in vain assailing the 
cause by means of violence and threats, now endeavoured to 
gain their object by means of insidious cunning. 

Three days later, Luther again wrote to the above-named 
three friends, because from Nuremberg the apprehension had 
been expressed, that they might concede too much at Augs- 
burg ; he at the same time, however, also quieted the fears of 
the writer, (Lazarus Spengler,) and answered : " I trust there 
will be no danger ; for even if Christ should in a measure as- 
sume the appearance of weakness, he is therefore not cast 
from the throne. I have committed the matter to God, and 
conceive that I have so well retained it in my own hands, that 
no man shall in the least prejudice or injure it, as long as I 
remain steadfast in Christ. For* even if anything too much 



412 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



should be conceded (which I do not apprehend), the cause is 
still not lost, but a new war is to be begun, that our adversa- 
ries may learn how uprightly they have acted. For beyond 
the Gospel, nothing can be conceded, no matter if even the 
snares of party prove triumphant. For truly in the reserva- 
tion of the Gospel there are concealed different snares from 
those which the adversaries can now employ ; quia, quid est 
sapientia hominis contra Deum (for what can the wisdom of 
man avail against God ?) Therefore let us be unconcerned. 
We shall not concede anything to the prejudice of the Gospel. 
But if our friends do concede aught to the prejudice of the 
Gospel, then shall the devil reward the adversaries for it, as 
we shall see. 

On the 14th September, to Luther's great joy, Duke John 
Frederick, with Count Albert of Mansfeld, unexpectedly ar- 
rived at Coburg. He presented Luther with a golden ring : 9 
"But I was not born to wear gold," said Luther, " for it imme- 
diately fell from my finger to the ground,, (it being somewhat 
too large,) and I said : Thou art a worm and not a man. It 
ought to have been given to Faber or Eck ; for thee, lead suits 
better, or a rope around the neck." The duke also washed to 
take Luther with him, but the latter begged him to permit 
him to remain there, that he might receive his friends on their 
return, to wipe the sweat from their weary countenances, 
after such a tedious siege. He hoped also soon to see them 
delivered, and thought that they had done all that was re- 
quired of them. " You have confessed Christ," he wrote, 
" offered peace, rendered obedience to the emperor, borne in- 
justice, been rewarded with calumny, and have not returned 
evil for evil ; in short, you have worthily performed the holy 
work of God, as it becomes his saints. Let us now also re- 
joice in the Lord, and be joyful ye righteous ; look up and 
lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh. I will 
canonize you as faithful members of Christ, and what further 
renown do you want ? Oris it a small matter faithfully to 
have discharged the duties of the office of Christ, and to have 
shown yourselves his worthy members ? Be it far from you 
to esteem the grace of Christ so lightly. But more verbally." 

But there once more arrived a host of complaints con- 
cerning his Augsburg friends, especially concerning Melanch- 
thon, as if, for the sake of peace, he had conceded too much, 
and betrayed everything. He defended them ; for, according 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



413 



to their last letters, the matter stood quite differently, and had 
again been referred to the decision of the emperor, and he 
thought that even if Melanchthon had negotiated concerning 
several conditions, they had with that not been granted, not 
even by himself. He nevertheless again wrote to his friends 
at Augsburg, although he dreaded the idea of grieving them, 
since they were authorized to expect only comfort from him, 
and prayed them for Christ's sake to inform him what had 
transpired since their last letters, at the same time exhorting 
them : " Do not by any means suffer divisions to arise among 
you. Let peace be esteemed by us as much as it may, yet is 
the Lord of peace and the umpire in the war greater than 
peace, and more to be honoured. " Our duty is not to be ap- 
prehensive of future war, but our duty is simply to believe 
and to confess." 

But the suspicion was unfounded, and the Lord heard the 
prayer of Luther, that he would conduct the confessors back 
in health and strength. On the 23d, they, together with the 
elector, set out from Augsburg. They met Luther at Coburg, 
in good courage even if not in good health. He congratulated 
his elector, that by the grace of God he had been delivered 
from the hell at Augsburg, and at the same time wrote : " And 
though the wrath of men, and their god the devil, assume a 
fierce aspect, we still hope that the grace of God, as it has 
begun, so it will also in future the more invigoratingly and 
abundantly be with us. Surely they are in the hand of God 
as well as we : of this there is no doubt ; and they will not 
accomplish anything unless He permits them, not even so 
much as to harm a hair of any one of us, if it is not God's 
will. I have committed the cause to my Lord God ; I know 
He has begun it, He will also conduct it to the end ; this is 
my firm belief. It truly is not in the power of man to begin 
or to give such doctrine ; it therefore belongs to God, and does 
not depend upon our ability or skill. We shall see who those 
will be, that in their defiance will overpower God. Let come 
what may in the name of God. It is written (Psalm 55) : 
Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days. We 
must suffer them to begin and to menace, but in conducting it 
to the end they shall fail. May Christ our Lord cause your 
electoral grace to be of a firm and joyful spirit. Amen." On 
their way from Coburg to Altenburg, Luther preached daily 
before the elector. At Altenburg he, together with his fellow- 



414 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



travellers, took up his abode with Spalatin. As Melanchthon, 
who was continually engaged in meditation upon the Apology 
of the Augsburg Confession, there wrote at table, Luther arose, 
and taking from him his pen, said : " We serve God not onl} r 
with labour, but also by quiet and rest ; therefore he gave the 
third commandment, and enjoined the Sabbath." On the 10th 
(or 1 1th) of October, the elector again arrived at Torgau, and 
on the following Sunday heard Luther preach in the Court- 
church. 

Authorities. — Annals, &c, in Lingke, Luther's Reisegeschichte, 
p. 186 seq. Corp. Ref. T. II. p. 25. Let. No. 1192. The authori- 
ties concerning the journey to Coburg, in Lingke, beginning with p. 190, 
Let. vol. 4. No. 1199, ell. Seckend., lib. II., p. 152 seq. Let. No. 
1201, 7, 5, 11. (comp. 1207.) Epp. Mel. in the Corp. Ref. T. II. 
No. 680, 699. Works, vol. 20, p. 172. Let. No. 1229 and 1279, 
1211. Mathes., 8 Pred. Tischreden, ed. of Stangw., p. 806. Let. 
No. 1221, vol. 3. No. 1175. Math, as before. Schlegel, vita Langeri, 
p. 106 seq. Let. No. 1219, 20. Writ. Exhortation to the clergy, &c, 
Works, vol. 20, p. 146. Let. No. 1242 and 1274. A sermon on keeping 
children at school, vol. 22, p. 208. Exhortation to partake of the 
sacrament, vol. 20, p. 248. Let. No. 1264. Recantation of purga- 
tory, vol. 20, p. 237. Concerning the keys, p. 266. Missive concern- 
ing translating, vol. 12, p. 90. Several fables of iEsop, vol. 22. A pp. 
p. 64. Math. 8, Pred. Corp. Ref, T. II., p. 159. Math, as before. 
Corp. Ref, T. It, p. 47. Let. No. 1213, 15, 16, 21, 25. Corp. Ref. 
T. II., p. 141. Let. No. 1231, 34. Epp. Mel. in the Corp. Ref. 3, II. 
No. 744, 45. Let. No. 1216. Corp. Ref. T. II., p. 154, seq. Let. 
No. 1240, 37—39, 41, 46, 51, 45, 47, 50, 51, 54, 55, 59, 58, 66, 77, 
67, 65, &c. ; 68, 69, 81, (comp. Corp. Ref. T. II., pp. 250, 253, 260.) 
1287, 90, 94—97. 1303, 5—7, 8. Mel. Epp. in the Corp. Ref. T. it, 
No. 920. Let. No. 1316. The authorities concerning the return 
journey, in Lingke, p. 205 seq. Math. 12, Pred. 

Notes. — 1.) These " Torgau articles," which formed the basis of 
the Augsburg Confession, are, according to the general opinion, the 
same which Luther had drawn up for the Convention of the Protesting 
Estates, held at Schwabach, in October, 1529. 

2. ) Compare Let. to Link, No. 1209. The labours to which Luther 
refers under this representation, we shall learn to know further below. 

3. ) Sons of a sister and of a brother of Luther's, Veit Dietrich^ 
afterwards a useful preacher at Nuremburg. 

4. ) On this account it was, too, that he seldom, in his letters, sub- 
scribed the appropriate name of the place, but dated them : " From my 
solitude," " from the realm of the birds," from Grubok," &c. 

5. ) This declaration Luther afterwards converted into the Latin 
verse : Pestis eram vivus, moriens ero mors tua, Papa ! and frequently 
repeated it. 

6. ) This passage is explained by what Mathes. (Pred. 7) relates, 



THE STRUGGLES OF THE REFORMATION. 



415 



that Luther, namely, in the beginning of the year 1530, had been filled 
with vehement zeal against his charge, delivered to them a severe peni- 
tential sermon, and resolved not to preach any more in future. To this 
also that which Melanchthon (Epp. T. II., No. 664) writes to Myco- 
nius, seems to have reference. 

7. ) Besides the one mentioned in the text, particularly also con- 
cerning the 117th Ps., (Works, vol. 6, p. 489.) In the year 1530, 
belongs also the brief explanation of the first 25 Psalms, (vol. 5, p. 246,) 
of the 82d Ps., (vol. 6, p. 271,) and of the 111th Ps , (ib., p. 472,) the 
latter, however, written after the return from Coburg. 

8. ) We once more recur to this missive concerning translating, in 
the account concerning the translation of the Bible. 

9. ) It probably was the ring concerning which Dr. Jonas had written 
to Luther : " My gracious young lord is causing yoUr rose to be en- 
graved on a gem, and this to be set in gold ; it will make a very hand- 
some seal, and his princely grace will himself deliver it to you." Corp. 
Ref. T. II. p. 157. The explanation of his armorial bearing engraved 
upon this ring, Luther, writing from Coburg, gave to his friend Lazarus 
Spengler ; and as no suitable place could be found for it in the text, we 
insert it here : " Grace and peace in Christ. Honourable, kind, dear 
sir, and friend ! Because you desire to know whether my seal has been 
well executed, I will, for good company, state to you my first thoughts, 
which I wished to have expressed upon my seal as an indication of my 
theology. Firstly, there should have been a cross, black in the heart, 
which ought to have retained its natural colour, to remind me that faith 
in Him crucified saves us. For if we believe from the heart, we be- 
come righteous. Although now it is a black cross, mortifies and also 
causes pain, it nevertheless leaves the heart its colour, does not destroy 
its nature, that is, it does not kill, but keeps alive. Justus enim fide 
vivet, sed fide crucifixi. But this heart should have stood in a white 
rose, to indicate that faith affords joy, consolation and peace ; and, in 
short, transfers into a white joyful rose, not as the world affords peace 
and joy, and therefore the rose should be white, and not red ; for the 
spirits and all the angels are arrayed in white. This rose should stand 
in an azure field, to indicate, that such joy in the Spirit and faith, is a 
beginning of the future heavenly joy, already here contained in it, and 
embraced through hope, but not yet revealed. And in such field a 
golden ring, to indicate, that such happiness in heaven continues for- 
ever and has no end, and is also precious beyond all joy and posses- 
sions, as gold is the noblest and most precious metal. Christ, our dear 
Lord, be with your spirit, to life everlasting. Amen. Ex eremo 
Grubok, 8 Julii, MDXXX." Let. No. 1248. 



PART V. 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



PROM THE CONCLUSION OF THE DIET OP AUGSBURG TO THE SCHMALKALD 

CONVENTION. 

From October, 1530, to the 14th March, 1537. 



27 



417 



CONTENTS OF PART V. 



The good Confession at Augsburg had been witnessed, and now it was required to 
secure and to establish it. Luther accordingly, after his return from Coburg, still 
faithfully remained at his post, and did not neglect, where necessary, to warn his 
dear Germans ; he nevertheless, also, as a lover of peace, by his counsels assisted in 
the promotion of it, and taught that justice must not be so rigidly sought. He wit- 
nessed the death of his elector, the faithful confessor of Augsburg, and he himself, 
besides many sorrows, occasioned to him by ungrateful hearers and the fanatics, was 
greatly afflicted by sickness ; he, however, always had a word of comfort for dis- 
tressed and troubled souls. A letter of advice and consolation addressed to several 
exiled citizens of Leipzig, involves him in new disputes with Duke George. He, 
however, did not permit such controversies to divert him from the more important 
labours which his office of teacher and preacher made obligatory upon him. The 
principal work, the translation of the Bible, he brought to a close. Bucer being 
active in promoting an adjustment of the dispute concerning the sacrament, Luther, 
without departing from the truth, joyfully reached forth his hand and endeavoured to 
confirm the union entered into at Wittenberg. He had less confidence in the council 
first promised by Pope Clement the VII., and subsequently by Paul the III. ; he 
nevertheless with his friends advised, that nothing should be left undone, and once 
more drew up articles, which were to be maintained in opposition to the pope. At 
Schmalkalden, where the allied protesting estates, together with their theologians, 
assembled to consult with regard to the council, Luther became afflicted with a 
painful sickness, during which he more than once despairs of his life ; but God heard 
his prayer, and the prayer of the Church, and once more preserved the life of His 
faithful servant. 



CHRONOLOGICAL SYNOPSIS. 

1532. July 23d. The Nuremberg Religious Peace, - Chapt. 1. 

1532. August 16. The Elector John dies, "2. 

1533. After Easter. Letter of Consolation to the Exiled Citizens of 

Leipzig, . " 2. 

1534. during Summer. The Bible appears completely translated, - " 4. 

1535. November. Luther's Interview with Vergerius, - - " 5. 

1536. May 29. The Form of Union subscribed, - - - " 6. 

1537. February. The Convention at Schmalkalden, - . " 7. 



418 



CHAPTER I. 

COUNCILS FOR PEACE. 1531-32. i 

After his return from Coburg, Luther was constrained to enter 
upon Bugenhagen's labours, 1 being under the necessity of 
preaching, lecturing, attending to all manner of business, and 
writing many letters, so that he was compelled forcibly and 
craftily to steal his time, if he wished to undertake anything 
extraordinary. In addition to this, the buzzing in his head 
recurred, at times with considerable violence, especially in the 
forenoon. 

At this time the elector required of him his opinion with 
regard to the election of a Roman king, which should take 
place at that time ; and Luther complied, although he said, 
that he, as being of inferior rank before the world, was not 
able to give much advice, in matters of such importance, and 
pertaining to stations so lofty. He wished, that, if it were not 
possible to prevent the election of a king, the elector might, in 
the name of God, without hesitation take part in such election, 
lest by his refusal, he should give them occasion for a pretence 
against him. That the elector moreover knew that it was not a 
sin, if in temporal affairs an enemy of the Gospel were elected, 
as he alone would not be able to prevent such election. That 
thus he was required also to obey the emperor, who neverthe- 
less condemned the Gospel. "It is better," continued he, "to 
hazard the election, in reliance upon God, who well knows 
how to make future things take a different course, from what we 
apprehend or imagine, than unnecessarily to involve ourselves 
in such certain, present danger, and embarrassments of con- 
science. Your electoral grace can still abide in the Gospel, 
though King Ferdinand should enjoin much in opposition to it, 
as has hitherto happened under the emperor. God alone, 
moreover, rules and controls future events, where he is trusted, 
for I would certainly not wish, that the faith and confidence in 
God, which your electoral grace has lately so nobly evinced 
and exhibited at Augsburg, should now fail in this case, and 
yield to the apprehension of future events, especially because 
419 



420 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 



the Scriptures and necessity do not compel us here to give 
heed to such apprehension, but leave us at liberty to disregard 
it." Having further observed, that, if the elector should refuse 
his vote, the empire would be rent asunder, war and distress 
would follow, and it would be grievous unnecessarily to 
burthen his conscience with such charges ; and having also 
expressed his opinion with regard to the landgrave, who was 
drawing the Swiss into the alliance, although they had not yet 
retracted their error in regard to the sacrament ; he con- 
cluded : " God knows, I am too inexperienced in such tempo- 
ral affairs. I pray and shall continue to do so, that God may 
graciously guard and direct your electoral grace, as he has 
done hitherto; or if anything should happen, which I do not 
wish to see, that he may still not withdraw from us his grace, 
but give the matter a favourable direction and termination. 
Amen. I pray your electoral grace, graciously to excuse my 
foolish babbling. I speak as I understand things ; but this I 
know, that I most earnestly wish to see your electoral grace 
preserve a conscience void of all offence, and nothing would 
grieve me more, than to behold your electoral grace incurring 
any danger or charge in this respect. Herewith I commend 
your electoral grace to the grace of God. Amen. On Monday 
after St. Nicholas, (the 12th December,) 1530." 

He therefore also, together with his friends, wholly refused 
to revoke the former counsel, not to resist the emperor, al- 
though the jurists sharply disputed with them at Torgau ; and 
when these maintained, that the imperial law itself permitted 
the resisting of force by force, in cases of notorious injustice, 
he replied: "I counsel as theologian. But if the jurists can 
demonstrate from their laws, that it is permitted, I suffer them 
to use their laws ; they may answer for the consequences. 
For if the emperor has decreed in his laws, that he may be re- 
sisted in such a case, let him abide by the law which he has 
given, but do not require me to give counsel with regard to 
such law or to pass judgment upon it, but suffer me to con- 
tinue in my theology." The jurists, however, insisted upon re- 
sistance, although Luther continually assured them: "God 
will be with us, so that we will not need to resist ; as he truly 
is with us, and has made this convention so unnecessary, that 
they have not, up to this day, attempted anything. This God 
also will do in future. But truly every one has not faith." 

Luther, nevertheless, at this time, published a " Warning to 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATIO^ 



Ms dear Germans" to admonish them not to persecute the 
Gospel, nor to afford any aid in case of war or insurrection 
arising on account of it* In the beginning of this treatise he 
complains thai, notwithstanding his urgent and faithful exhor- 
tation to the clergy at the Diet of Augsburg, nothing had been 
gained, and his prayer and entreaty for peace had been in 
vain ; it should, nevertheless, by the grace of God, prevail to the 
end. That if the worst should come to pass now, and a war 
or insurrection, or perhaps both, should occur, he herewith de- 
clared before God and all the world, that the Lutherans had 
not given the least cause for it, but had always, without ceas- 
ing, prayed and entreated for nothing more than peace and 
quiet, as all the world knew ; that they had thus far taught and 
lived in all quietness, never drawn the sword, never imprison- 
ed, burnt, murdered or robbed any one, as the opponents had 
thus far done. That besides this, they had most deeply 
humbled themselves at the Diet, prayed for peace and quiet, 
and made every offer that the Lord would permit them to 
make, so that no charge of causing either war or insurrection 
could be brought against them, either before God or the world. 
But that, if war should result, the papists would not be able to 
begin it in the name of God, much less to pray and entreat 
God for his aid and assistance in it, since they knew and had 
acknowledged the evangelical doctrine not to be contrary to 
any article of faith or to the Holy Scriptures, but only to the 
customs of their church and the statutes of the popes. That, 
if war should occur now, he would not denounce those as sedi- 
tious who should resist the papists, but suffer them to proceed 
as in necessary resistance, to rescue the poor and the distress- 
ed from their danger, and, if possible, to protect them. That 
if the opponents, as wicked persecutors of the Gospel, had 
neither divine nor human law in their favour, it was no less 
evident, that they also acted in opposition to imperial and 
natural law, since they had, contrary to every principle of jus- 
tice, refused the answer which the Evangelical Party, with all 
humility and diligence, had presented in opposition to their 
Confutation, 2 and had, moreover, denied to these the Confuta- 
tion, though repeatedly and earnestly desired to grant it. That 
the emperor had indeed been disposed to deliver to them the 
Confutation, on condition of their obligating themselves not to 
publish it ; but if this Confutation was so able a production, 
and so well founded in the Scriptures, why did they d*ead to 



422 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



bring it to the light ? but if it was deficient, why had they, in 
the first collection of the edicts, given the written declaration, 
that the Confession of the Evangelical Party had been refuted 
from the Scriptures, and with substantial argument ? That 
the Word of Christ, John iii. 20 — 21, would therefore have to 
remain true. He then proceeds to the proper object of this 
writing, and says : " That because he was the prophet of the 
Germans, (for such proud name he would thenceforth have to 
adopt, in order to gratify and please his papists and asses,) it 
behooved him, as a faithful teacher, to warn his dear Germans 
of their injury and danger, and to afford them Christian in- 
struction, as to what course of conduct they should pursue, in 
case the emperor, being spurred on by his devils, the papists, 
should demand of them to take up arms against the princes 
and cities of their own part. Not as if he was apprehensive 
that his imperial majesty would yield to such malicious spirits 
and begin so unjust a war, but he wished to do his part, and to 
preserve his conscience free of all charge, come what might 
But this is my faithful advice: if the emperor should summon 
to arms with the intention of making war upon us, that no one 
suffer himself, in such case, to be employed for this purpose, or 
render obedience to the emperor, being assured, that it is 
strictly forbidden him of God to obey the emperor in this in- 
stance ; and whoever does obey him, may know, that he dis- 
obeys God, and will eternally lose body and soul. For the 
emperor then acts in opposition not only to God and divine law, 
but also to his own imperial laws, oaths, obligations, seals and 
briefs." That he indeed felt constrained to exculpate the dear 
Emperor Charles, as regarded his person, especially because he 
had been unwilling to condemn their doctrine ; that the em- 
peror, however, would fare as all pious princes and lords fared: 
he would not be able to accomplish anything amidst so many 
knaves and villains ; wherefore no one should be surprised or 
astounded at it, if, under the emperor's name, prohibitions and 
briefs were issued, militating against God and right. Lest any 
one might imagine, however, that this was merely his own 
judgment, or that such advice, with regard to not obeying the 
emperor, was simply his own conceit, he further advances the 
following three chief reasons : firstly, every one has in baptism 
vowed to abide by the Gospel of Christ, and not to persecute 
or to oppose it ; secondly, every one engaging in such war 
becomes chargeable before God with making himself a par- 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 



42S 



taker of all the abominations which have existed and still 
exist throughout the papacy, of indulgences, namely, the mass, 
the invocation of saints, pilgrimages, golden years, &c. - In 
conclusion, he repeats his advice, and adds : " This I wish to 
have said as a warning to my dear Germans, and as above, so 
here again I testify, that I wish not to excite or to entice any 
one to war, insurrection, (or even self-defence.) but only to 
peace. If our devils, the papists, however, will not maintain 
peace, but after all engage in war, I wish herewith publicly to 
testify, that I have not given any occasion or cause for it ; but 
that they are resolved to have it thus, their blood be upon 
their own heads ; I am innocent, and have most faithfully done 
my part. Henceforth I shall suffer Him to judge, who is able 
and will and shall judge ; He will not delay, nor be wanting. 
To Him be praise and honour, thanks and adoration, forever. 
Amen." 

Shortly after this, was published the other treatise : " Dr. 
Martin Luther's Annotations upon the supposed Imperial Edict, 
after the Diet of the year 1530." At the very outset he pre- 
mises that he does not wish to have anything, which he in this 
book wrote in opposition to this supposed imperial edict, to be 
interpreted as spoken against his imperial majesty, or any 
other authority, spiritual or temporal, but as intended against 
those traitors and knaves (whether they were princes or 
bishops) who endeavoured, under the imperial name, to carry 
out their desperate and malicious designs. After he had 
pointed out what kind of a spirit that was which had inspired 
the wisdom of the adversaries in the fabrication of the edict, 
namely, the spirit of the pope, the father of all lies, he signifies 
his intention of taking up the edict by parts, for the purpose 
of exposing the falsehoods of Satan. The first falsehood was, 
that they boasted of having refuted the Confession of the 
Evangelical Party from the Holy Gospels, whilst they them- 
selves had acknowledged at Augsburg, that this Confession 
contained nothing opposed to the true faith, and that it could 
not be refuted from the Scriptures. The second falsehood was, 
their assertion that the Christian Church had, in obedience to 
the dictates of the Holy Ghost, and for good reasons, whole- 
somely ordered and enjoined, that the sacrament should be 
dispensed in one kind, &c. That because Christ clearly and 
manifestly enjoined both kinds in the Gospel, therefore such 
inspiration, which made changes here, and prohibited one part, 



424 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATIO^. 



could not proceed from the Holy Ghost, but must necessarily 
proceed from the veritable Satan in hell, since Christ said 
that the Holy Ghost would glorify Him, and put men in re- 
membrance of His words. That accordingly, as it was men- 
dacious blasphemy of the Christian Church, to charge her with 
altering and abolishing the word and the doctrine of her be- 
loved Bridegroom, so it was also false to declare it impossible 
for the Church to err or to sin, since she daily prayed : Forgive 
us our sins ! " Therefore," continued he, " the Church is holy 
so far as it lives in the word and faith of Christ, and speaks 
according to them ; but as far as in its acts and teachings it 
opposes the word and faith of Christ, so far it errs and sins. 
But he who converts such sinful acts and teachings of the 
Church into articles of faith, blasphemes both the Church and 
Christ himself, as those liars (the pope and his blind sophists) 
do." But the chief part of all their wickedness was, that they 
acknowledged communion under both kinds to be right, and 
were willing also to allow this to the Lutherans, provided 
these would at the same time teach and confess, that one kind 
alone also was right ; in connection with which, Lutner replies 
to the arguments in support of the adoption of one kind ; for 
instance : that under one kind there was as much as under 
both : " Grant, that under one kind there is a thousand times 
more than under both kinds, yea, even, that under both kinds 
there is nothing, and under one kind there is everything, what 
does that avail me ? God's Word, enjoining both kinds, still 
remains, and does not consult me, how much or little I consider 
to be under one or both kinds." That, accordingly, as the 
edict further required, that no innovations should be intro- 
duced, those conceited spirits and blasphemers should apply 
this to themselves, since they knew that God's Word, with 
regard to one kind, was not an innovation, but had been in- 
stituted by Christ himself, and been obediently observed by 
the Church for more than fifteen centuries. That the second 
point, however, the one concerning the mass, namely, which 
the edict required to be observed, together with all the cere- 
monies connected with it thus far, was an alteration and in- 
novation, since there was no authority in the Gospel for pur- 
chasing and vending the sacrament or the mass, for converting 
it into a sacrifice, to God, for honouring the saints with it, re- 
deeming souls from purgatory, &c, but for seeking and finding 
here forgiveness of sin to eternal life, for remembering the 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION, 



425 



Lord Jesus Christ, and showing forth His sufferings till He 
come. That the Gospels, moreover, did not know anything 
of confirmation and unction, but the papists were always in- 
venting sacraments where there were none. Concerning the 
third point, or free will, he demonstrates, that the doctrine 
of the Evangelical Party, declaring free will to be dead and 
nothing, free will towards God, namely, and in matters of the 
soul, is mightily grounded in the Scriptures, and therefore no 
innovation, — so also the fourth point, concerning the chief ar- 
ticle of the Christian faith, namely: that faith alone justifies 
without good works. After he has further considered the 
addition in the edict in reference to pre bends, the marriage 
of priests, and the restoration of monks and cloisters to their 
rights, and also the pretence, that by the prohibited innovation 
reference was had, not to errors and frauds, but to admissible 
and becoming ceremonies and doctrines, he says in conclusion : 
" Let no one, however, be affrighted at this edict, which they 
so unblushingly fabricate and publish under the name of a 
pious emperor. What wonder that they publish their false- 
hoods under the name of a pious emperor, when they in the 
name of God and of the Holy Church have introduced, and 
now for more than six centuries maintained, all their blas- 
phemous, shameful observances, stations, doctrines, practices, 
and what they are and do ? But that same our good God 
wished at last to make an end of such blasphemy, and again 
to sanctify his name, that his kingdom might also once come, 
and his will be done. Amen." 

Against these two writings of Luther, an anonymous layman 
had published a libellous book, printed at Dresden, in which 
the former was accused of having inculcated disobedience to 
the emperor, and therefore of being seditious. It was further 
asserted in it, that the Lutherans were making preparations 
for war, by the giving of orders, the assembling of horsemen, 
and the formation of leagues, which could not be said of the 
emperor and those siding with him; and finally, it was repre- 
sented as an invention of Luther, that the papists had any de- 
sign of making war upon the Lutherans. In defence of his 
books he upon this wrote the treatise : " Against the Libeller at 
Dresden? and in it called upon the author of said libel, the 
dear layman, boldly to step forth and to make it manifest, that 
he had any intention of inducing the Germans to revolt from 
the emperor, and to resist all authority ; showing much rather 



426 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION, 



that he had written only against those tyrants who wished to 
wage war in opposition to God and right, and not against 
those authorities whose cause was just, so that he had well 
secured his book in this respect against the assertions of all 
calumniators. To the other charge, that the Lutherans were 
making preparations for war and holding assemblages, he re- 
plies : " That does not at *all concern me; I have neither di- 
rected them to do so, nor advised them, neither do I know in 
what they are engaged. But because the papists, through this 
libellor. give us to understand that they verily conceive the Lu- 
therans to be arming themselves and giving orders for war, 
&c. ; I truly am happy to hear it, and it delights me, that they 
have to vex themselves with such conceits, and to believe that 
such is really the design of the Lutherans. And if I could, I 
would gladly aid in confirming them in such conceits and ap- 
prehensions, till they would frighten themselves to death ; " 
and further on he continues : " I will suppose, for a moment, 
that they in reality were making such preparation for war 
against you, murderers and traitors ; I still say, as I have said 
before, that, if they do so with the intention of defending them- 
selves against those bloodhounds, who in opposition to God and 
right attempt to shed innocent blood, I shall not, on that ac- 
count suffer them to be denounced as rebels." To the charge 
of his having invented it, that the papists had designs of 
making war upon the Lutherans, he rejoined, that the resolu- 
tions adopted at Bononia, desiring the emperor to crush the 
Lutherans by means of the sword, were not an invention of 
his, but had been heard publicly spoken of at Augsburg. 
Again : it was manifest and not an invention of his, that they 
had put to death, burnt and shamefully butchered many indi- 
vidual persons ; that the Elector of Brandenburg also, and 
Duke George of Saxony, had promised the emperor an aux- 
iliary force of 5000 horse against the Lutherans ; and that the 
priests had engaged to contribute large sums of money for the 
purpose, &c. ; from which it could be perceived, therefore, who 
were the men that wished to begin and wage war and refused 
to preserve peace, whether the papists or the Lutherans ? 
Having then yet shown, that, notwithstanding the humble, 
cordial, Christian prayer of his friends, peace had publicly 
been denied them, and war and death openly threatened and 
resolved upon against them, inasmuch as a public edict had 
been issued under the name of the pious emperor, in which the 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



427 



papists condemned the doctrine of the Evangelical Party, and 
on account of it threatened to deprive them of body, life, pos- 
sessions, and everything, 'whilst these remained quiet, suffered 
and endured all their rage ; he thus addresses the libellor : 
" Thou nevertheless denouncest us as rebels, though thou canst 
not substantiate thy charge ; dost thou know by what name 
such characters are designated in German lands? They are 
denominated desperate knaves, traitors, and infamous wretches, 
who with their venomous tongues attempt to deprive pious 
and innocent men of honour, body, and life ; that is thy appro- 
priate name, be thou who thou mayest." In conclusion, he 
re-asserts, that he had not encouraged rebellion by his warn- 
ing, as this libellor falsely maintained, but had wished only to 
deter the papists and all others from complying with the mur- 
derous edict, and to advise his- own friends against self-defence, 
by which he had wished to induce both sides to maintain 
peace. 

Concerning the above-mentioned first two treatises, Duke 
George again most vehemently complained to the elector ; and 
the latter caused his chancellor, Briick, who resided at Wit- 
tenberg, to treat on the matter with Luther. The latter de- 
fended himself in a letter, under date of the 16th April, 1531, 
in which be says : " That no person would be able from these 
two severe treatises to make good the charge of insurrection 
against him, &c. ; that he, however, durst not remain silent, 
when his doctrines were publicly condemned, since that was 
the same as forsaking and denying them. That these two 
treatises were undoubtedly sharp and severe ; that his design, 
however, in writing them, had not been, either, that they should 
be dull and soothing ; and whoever would take into considera- 
tion the severity and vehemence of the opponents in this 
matter, would not deem his writings to be particularly severe 
and vehement, since it was no mild and gentle business, to 
issue against the elector and his friends so shocking an edict, 
and condemnation of uninvestigated matters and the rejected 
answer, thus exciting the whole realm mercilessly to draw the 
sword against the elector." " Yes," continued he, " they are 
always prepared to pronounce my writings sharp and severe ; 
but when will the opponents also take themselves by the nose 
and declare the productions of their own writers to be severe ? 
When has his imperial majesty ever rebuked or prohibited 
those most severe and disgraceful writings, which without 



428 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



ceasing have been published throughout the empire, even in 
his own hereditary states and Italian states ? When has his 
royal majesty of Bohemia deemed the mendacious, blasphe- 
mous writings of Dr. Faber and his like, too severe ? When 
does Margrave Joachim rebuke his Wimpina and Mensingen, 
those venomous asps and mendacious spirits? What displea- 
sure has Duke George ever evinced at what Emser, Cochleus, 
and many others in his dominions, so sharply, bitterly and 
shamefully have written against us ? they having grossly as- 
sailed the honour even of the gentle, pious prince, Duke Fred- 
erick, deceased ; not to mention, how severely your electoral 
grace yourself is handled by them. And Duke George him- 
self has oftentimes written against me in such a way, that a 
wretched Emser or despicable Cochleus should blush to write 
as he has done ; but it shall be docketed to him too." " But 
this is the sum of the matter," says he, in conclusion, "what we 
speak and do is unjust, though we should raise the dead ; what 
they do is just, even though they deluge the land with inno- 
cent blood ; and such men we are yet to handle with gloves, 
make our court to them, and say : Mercy, gentlemen, you are 
pious and handsome." Therefore he prays the elector not to 
suffer malicious tongues to influence him against him, but to 
take into consideration the imperative and unavoidable ne- 
cessity which had constrained him to write with severity, 
since it could easily be perceived, that he was by far too ob- 
tuse and yielding for such wicked knots and branches. But 
that if he had acted seditiously or unjustly, he would not defend 
himself, but suffer what was just. 

This letter, Chancellor Bri'ick despatched to the elector, with 
the prayer, graciously, notwithstanding its severity, to receive 
the same, since he well knew Luther's honest and upright 
mind and intention ; and he, the chancellor, wished only, that 
all might have heard the eloquent and powerful sermons 
which Luther had lately delivered. 

The elector and Duke George having subsequently arranged 
several disputes between themselves at Grimma, and the de- 
sire having accordingly been expressed to Luther, that he 
would, as far as his conscience and the caus.e of truth permitted, 
refrain from his severe writing, especially as regarded Duke 
George, in order that the peace or compact might not be dis- 
turbed and rendered ineffective, Luther, under date of the 
29th July, replied : That Duke George was indeed greatly in 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 



429 



arrears with him ; but in order that it might be seen how he 
also took pleasure in peace, and did not from impertinence 
Write such severe books, he would consider all this as past and 
forgotten, on condition that Duke George would also in future 
leave him undisturbed and occasion no new dissatisfaction ; 
with the further proviso, that if other papists would not ob- 
serve peace towards him, he should be at liberty to reprehend 
them, without Duke George applying it to himself. 

The electors of Mayence and the Palatinate having, towards 
the close of August, despatched ambassadors to the Protestants, 
with the offer, anew to negotiate concerning what it had been 
impossible to arrange at Augsburg ; Luther (in common with 
Melanchthon and Jonas) submitted the following opinion : In 
the doctrine, as exhibited in the Confession, we cannot and 
dare not yield, though in outward ceremonies we may, for the 
sake of peace, yield in some measure ; since we did not con- 
demn and change the ceremonies because they were all evil, 
but because the observance of them was required as necessary 
to salvation, which is not to be endured. Nor is it not at all 
productive of good thus impertinently and unnecessarily to 
rend everything asunder, for the sake of innovation. There 
must after all be observed in the Church some certain form and 
arrangement, for the sake at least of the youth and the mass 
of the people. The canon in the mass cannot be allowed ; 
just as little can the private masses be revived ; and if we are 
desired to teach that it is just as right to receive and to dis- 
pense with one kind in the sacrament, as to receive and to 
administer both kinds, we can in no wise consent or agree 
that the bishops are to have the right and the power to enjoin 
or to prohibit one kind, as we never could answer to God for 
such wickedness ; we, nevertheless, do not herewith condemn 
those who have been forcibly and against their will compelled 
to receive one kind, but commit them to the mercy of God. 
Concerning absolution, he says: "Nor does it by any means 
please us, that absolution should be abolished in the Church; 
and the people be suffered thus rudely to come to the sacra- 
ment. And though we do not suffer men to be forced to con- 
fession under charge of unpardonable sin, nor do we require 
the rehearsal of all sin, nor do we torment the consciences, as 
was done under the pope ; it is, on the other hand, just as little 
to be endured, that confession be forbidden and absolution 
therefore be banished from the Church. For there certainly 



430 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



must continue in the Church some certain form and discipline, 
which it will not be possible to maintain without confession. 
And it would come to pass, if people were not accustomed in 
confession to recall to mind their sins and to desire absolution 
or forgiveness, that absolution and forgiveness of sin would at 
last be wholly neglected and subverted; and the people would 
again come to the sacrament in their own conceits as before. 
So we must also suffer the consoling free Gospel to have full 
scope, to be declared to every one, individually, as well as to 
many, collectively. But what is absolution else, than the Gos- 
pel declared to a single individual, that he may through it be 
comforted with regard to the sin which he confesses ? So here 
we have the example of Christ — Matt. ix. — where he absolves 
the palsied man individually, and — Luke vii. — where he also 
individually absolves the sinful woman ; and other instances of 
the kind." That the jurisdiction of the bishops was, for the 
sake of peace, not wholly to be refused. 44 If they would con- 
sent to leave to us the pure doctrine of the Gospel, and our 
priests, they will be subject to them as bishops, and not as 
wolves." " Verily, I apprehend, that by such refusal of the ju- 
risdiction we prejudice our own cause, and attempt too much 
previously to secure things by reason, precisely as if God were 
not also able to do something here, more and different from 
what we believe or imagine, whilst yet the cause is his own ; 
and He will also direct it better, as He has done thus far, than 
we can, if we would only confide in Him." " If they desire for 
the future to have the jurisdiction in matrimonial affairs, we 
shall not only not complain because of it, but shall even joy- 
fully and willingly yield it ; since it is a vexatious and dan- 
gerous business, and we might perhaps in future times pro- 
nounce sentences equally as unjust as theirs. And as the 
times are greatly productive of fanaticism as well as of many 
other troublesome affairs, and may yet become more produc- 
tive, we may well relieve ourselves of all that we c^in, for 
we shall have enough to engage us without that." He finally 
observes with regard to cloister property : That they indeed 
did not wish to burthen the conscience of the elector, because 
of his having taken several of them to himself, since all this, 
while the affairs of all the churches had devolved upon him, 
caused him great expense and trouble, and it had also been 
necessary to make provision from the common cloister pro- 
perty for many parishes and pulpits ; that they would not, 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



431 



however, strive much about such wretched property and af- 
fairs ; and if it were so urgently desired again to reinstate the 
clergy, they should be permitted to eat and to drink, as they 
might see fit, excepting the first point; nevertheless, that they 
should not teach or live in opposition to the Gospel, and not 
again establish their blasphemous worship. 

When, in the following year, the two electors of Mayence, 
and the Palatinate, with the permission of the emperor, again 
negotiated about an agreement, and called upon the Elector of 
Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse to form such agreement ; 
Luther, at the desire of his elector, under date of the 12th 
February, 1532, expressed his opinion to the effect, that the 
articles proposed might be endured and received, and prayed, 
particularly, that, if the matter should progress so far, as that 
nothing would be in the way of such agreement and peace, 
except perhaps the article concerning the election of Ferdi- 
nand as Roman king, the elector would by all means yield 
this point, for the sake of peace. That, if he had been elected 
unjustly, he had thus far been made severely to suffer for it, 
and the elector had also sufficiently protested against such in- 
justice. " We. must also," added he, "permit this Christian 
article to exert its influence, which is called forgiveness of sin. 
Otherwise the wringing of the nose — says Solomon — bringeth 
forth blood; so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife. Many 
things that are unjust will still continue to happen in the 
world, and when they have happened, will have to be left un- 
changed, as the law teaches, to prevent greater injustice." 
So he also at the same time wrote to Duke John Frederick, 
and represented to him : That because the emperor, as the au- 
thority ordained of God, so graciously and benignly command- 
ed that peace should be established, it was truly not to be re- 
garded otherwise than as if God himself graciously made the 
offer, and we durst not suffer him to make it in vain. 

When upon this a convention was held at Schweinfurt, where 
the princes themselves negotiated about an agreement, which 
was to remain in force till the promised council should be held; 
Luther, in his opinion, declared nearly all the conditions pro- 
posed to be admissible and mild. With regard to the addition, 
however, which the Protestants had appended to the first arti- 
cle, namely, that those also who might in future adopt the 
Augsburg Confession, should be included in this peace, Luther 
thought, that the consent of the opponents could not be ob- 



432 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 



tained to this addition, and therefore his advice was, not too 
urgently to insist upon it, lest the whole negotiation in refer- 
ence to an agreement should fail, in consequence of this one 
point. That, even if others might in this way be induced to 
receive this doctrine, every person was, nevertheless , required 
to receive and to confess the Gospel upon his own hazard. 
" And our people have done enough," added he, " by not for- 
bidding the Gospel to any, and by even offering it ; and are 
not required to incur such danger, by which, in the end, they 
would not benefit others ; for of what benefit would it be to 
other cities, if ours were laid waste and desolate by Wart 
Surely this would not benefit others." And further : " So it is 
also proper to consider how it would be interpreted, if we 
should strenuously insist upon this addition ; for it may- 
be looked upon as an intrigue on our part, to induce 
the subjects of other potentates to revolt and to attach 
themselves to us, &c, and thus to gain the whole empire from 
the emperor to ourselves. And, in short, we cannot justly de- 
mand of the emperor to make grants to his subjects according 
to our pleasure, whilst these are not at all connected with us." 
On this occasion he again prayed that the matter with regard 
to the election might not be considered of such importance. 
" For," says he, " although the election of King Ferdinand is 
contrary to the Golden Bull, &c, it is still not a sin against the 
Holy Ghost, and maybe, we ourselves also have more and greater 
sins resting upon us, and our Lord God might perhaps (if we 
should be presumptuous) at last clearly and effectually reveal 
the beam that is in our own eye, and wholly conceal the mote 

in theirs." " Therefore my most faithful advice is, to 

embrace this opportunity, and not to be more influenced by a 
small sin or injustice, than by the great and fearful danger 
which from such pertinacity may result to all Germany. For 
experience and truth clearly dictate : Surtfin'Mh jus, swnma 
injuria : Severe justice is the greatest injustice ; but forgive- 
ness of sin is the best justice, as we ourselves wish to be 
forgiven. " 

After Luther had twice submitted his opinion with regard 
to this matter, and repeated and defended his counsels for 
peace, he on the 29th June, 1532, again wrote to the elector: 
"Because, from all the transactions, I perceive that several of 
our people want to be altogether too wise and certain, and, 
as their words run, to have an indisputable peace : I verily am 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 433 

constrained to believe, that they do not earnestly desire peace, 
or (what is the same thing) that they strive after an impossible 
peace. For what contract, law, transaction, seal or brief has 
there ever been, against which it has been impossible to dis- 
pute, or in which it has not been attempted to pick a flaw ? If 
by means of our own reason we wish to secure everything so 
exactly and certainly, and not also trust to God for some things, 
and leave him a share in the direction, we shall certainly not 
accomplish much good, and shall fare according to the decla- 
ration of Solomon : He that wringeth the nose bringeth forth 
blood, and he that despiselh what is small will not attain to what 
is great" "I therefore most humbly pray your elec- 
toral grace, that your electoral grace would write an earnest, 
plain, and severe letter to our people, 3 and faithfully exhort 
them, by all means, to take into consideration, how richly and 
graciously his imperial majesty yields to us, what we may 
very well with a good conscience receive ; that his imperial 
majesty himself, moreover, does not wish the election of the 
king to be mixed up with these matters ; wherefore, they should 
by no means refuse such gracious peace, on account of several 
nice and far-fetched points. If the main points are peaceably 
observed, God will heal such small defects and provide against 
them. They will, at any rate, not hit the mark, nor is it ne- 
cessary, but it suffices to shoot near to it. All our lives and 
actions both towards God and men (being full of defects) must 
after all be borne by forbearance and forgiveness of sin. And 
if it were required of us to be so exceedingly pious, pure and 
perfect towards God and our neighbours, we would never be 
saved and never have peace with our neighbour. If they are 
really in earnest about peace, they can very well (as observed) 
accept the conditions proposed. But if they desire strife, they 
need neither our advice nor opinion. They may easily be so 
overwise as to occasion calamity, but let us not give our con- 
sent to their measures ; if they fill the platter too full, they will 
have to empty it themselves. I, for myself, shall heartily thank 
his imperial majesty, if he grants these points. If there is any 
deception in the matter, which is not apparent from the words, 
and it does not become me to entertain suspicion against his 
imperial majesty, much less to put a bad construction upon his 
meaning, and to sit in judgment upon it, without first ascer- 
taining it, I commit it to Him, who knows and directs the 
hearts of all : He will, without fail, protect me in such danger 

28 



434 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



and preserve me from evil. For I am well convinced, that he 
who deceives a soul which confides in God and is filled with 
love to man, deceives himself, and faith and love remain un- 
injured." 

He at the same time also wrote to Duke John Frederick : 
That he indeed knew that the duke with all earnestness and 
diligence laboured for peace ; that he, nevertheless, from faith- 
ful anxiety, also prayed him, not to suffer such nice points to 
influence him, but to continue as he had begun. That God 
greeted us, and it was time to return thanks to Him, as St. 
Paul said : Do not neglect the time of grace and the day of salva- 
tion. He feared, that if such opportunity to establish peace 
were disregarded, it might never return under circumstances 
so favourable. 

As regarded the religious services of the monks and the 
priests, and their possessions, Luther's opinion was, that, if the 
elector was once assured, that such priestly and monastic 
observances were public blasphemy against God and His 
Word, he could by no means again establish the' cloisters and 
convents, or aid in establishing them. That the sovereign, 
however, both could and should take possession of the property, 
as he did of all vacant and forsaken property, lest it might go 
to waste, and that he ought not to consign it to other monks 
of the same order, or to permit its conveyance beyond his 
dominions, since it had been designed for a particular purpose 
and place. But that, if it were asked to what object such 
property was to be applied, in this case the wish of the foun- 
ders would have to be consulted, which truly had been no 
other than to have such property employed for the service and 
honour of God. If, however, they had failed of their object 
here, their wish was nevertheless to be taken as a guide, and 
their property to be employed for God's service and honour, 
in the support of pastors, preachers and schools, and whatever 
else appertained to God's Word and sacraments, and the care 
of souls. To the question, finally, whether the sovereign might 
also retain some of said property for himself, or make grants 
of it to others, he replied : " To speak without hypocrisy and 
without terror, if the sovereign should have appropriated the 
largest part for the care of souls and for schools, and after- 
wards needed the remainder for the temporal government, 
(which also is service to God, although inferior to the former,) 
I conceive its application in the latter case to be free of guilt. 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



435 



So also if impoverished and reduced families of the nobility 
are assisted with it; since the object of such convents and 
cloisters of old was, besides promoting the service of God, also 
to supply the necessity of such people, and they have also 
hitherto been thus supplied in the cloisters and convents, albeit, 
under spiritual names, so that cloisters and convents, in 
reality, differed but little from richly-endowed institutions for 
the impoverished children of great men, &c. The proper 
bounds dare not, however, be transgressed here, and most of all 
must the public offence be taken into consideration, iest the 
Gospel be evil spoken of and reproached, as if from just 
causes." That if this were prevented, he would not deem it 
sinful, much less account it to the elector as a grievous of- 
fence, if he retained some of the spiritual possessions, since he 
was made to incur so much expense and trouble for the sake 
of the Gospel and the poor priests and monks. " This I wish 
to have said," added he, in conclusion, " that the elector 
may not be too much circumscribed in his conscience, with a 
parade of the spiritual possessions, whilst the trouble, expense, 
danger and misfortune, which he is made to incur on account 
of them, and in connection with them, are passed by in silence ; 
but also that too much liberty be not afforded, lest occasion 
and room be given for unnecessary offence and slanderous 
reports, by a too bountiful and heedless distribution of said 
possessions." 

On the other hand, he was not pleased that it was attempted 
at Hervord to constrain the sisters and brethren who lived in 
common, and who first had introduced the Gospel there, to 
forsake their station, and to lay aside their habit ; and he re- 
minded the town-council of that place of the danger of unne- 
cessary innovations, especially in divine things, also praying 
them, because the brethren and sisters led an honourable life, 
had an honourable well-behaved congregation, and besides 
faithfully taught and kept the pure Word, that they would not 
suffer them to be disturbed or molested because of their still 
wearing the spiritual habit, and retaining old praiseworthy 
customs, not opposed to the Gospel ; for that such cloisters and 
brotherhoods pleased him exceedingly well. He informed the 
brethren of this, and wrote at the same time : H Your manner 
oflife, as you teach the Gospel in purity, and live according 
to it, pleases me exceedingly well ; and would that there ex- 
isted some such cloisters at the present day. Yet, I do not 



436 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



venture to wish many, for then the Church would be altogether 
too prosperous in this life. Your habit and other things, which 
you in a praiseworthy manner have retained, do the Gospel no 
injury, but rather prove of great service to it, against those 
crazy, insolent and reckless spirits, who now have learned no- 
thing else than to destroy, but not to build up." 

Authorities.— Let. vol. 4, No. 1326.— 1334, 51, 44. Treatise. 
Warning to his dear Germans, vol. 20, p. 298. Treatise : Annotations 
upon the supposed imperial edict, p. 322. Treatise : Against the libel- 
ler at Dresden, p. 336. Seckend. lib. III., p. 9. Let. No. 1368. 
Seckend. ib. p. 10, 16. Let. No. 1397. Sleid. lib. VIII. p. 218. Let. 
No. 1401. Sleid. ib. p. 222. Let. No. 1434, 35. Sleid. I. 1. Let 
No. 1455, 56, 62, 63, 64, 54, 32, 33. 

Notes. — 1.) Bugenhagen had been requested to come to Liibeck r 
for the purpose of introducing the Reformation there. Seckend. lib. IL 
p. 219. 

2. ) Reference is had to the so-called Confutation of the Augsburg 
Confession. (See vol. 2, p. 246.) 

3. ) At Nuremburg, whither the convention had been transferred from 
Schweinfurt, and where also, on the 23d July, 1532, the first religious 
peace was. established. The electoral prince, Duke John Frederick, 
supplied the place of the elector, who at that time was absent because 
of sickness. Comp. Seckend. lib. III. Sect. 4. 

4. ) Concerning this voluntary spiritual association, comp. Ullmann's 
Johann Wessel, ein Vorganger, Luther's Beilage 1. 



CHAPTER II. 

AFFLICTION ON ACCOUNT OF OTHERS AND IN HIS OWN PERSON*- 

1531-33. 

Although Luther had to suffer greatly himself on account of 
God's Word, still the ungrateful conduct of the Zwickau town- 
council towards their clergymen in the year 1531, grieved him 
exceedingly. The citizens of Zwickau, namely, had deposed 
the preacher of St. Catherine's church, Laarentius Soranns. 
from his office, without his having been convicted* or even 
having had a hearing, yea, what seemed the worst of all to 
Luther, without consulting their good and upright pastor, 
Nicholas Hausmann, about it, and in opposition to his wishes. 
He, therefore, wrote to the town-clerk, Stephen Roth : " Do 
you imagine, dear squires, that you will be permitted thus to 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 



437 



domineer in the churches, and to rob and take possession of 
the rents, which you have not founded, and which are not your 
own, and afterwards bestow them upon whom you see fit, as 
if you were lords over the churches ? Have we deserved this ? 
Is this the reward for our severe labours, and contests for the 
Church of God ? Do you thus requite us, my good friends ? " 
He also sent back to them their letters of excuse without read- 
ing them, and sent them word that they should not trouble him 
with their letters, for he had heard, how they even boasted, 
and had misrepresented him to the elector. Hausmann, how- 
ever, he admonished, to remember that he had been regularly 
called to the pastorate of the church at Zwickau, and he gave 
him advice how he should deport himself towards the preach- 
er, who had been forced upon him in the place of Soranus, and 
towards the town-council, namely, first, privately to admonish 
them, and, if this did not produce the desired effect, publicly to 
protest against them, not to surrender the pastorate, though he 
must yield for a time. That Cordatus, who had been appoint- 
ed to St. Catherine's Church, might remain also. But soon 
after he called upon both to flee from the town, to shake off 
the dust from their feet, as a testimony against them, and to 
leave the knaves to pursue their own course ; that they, how- 
ever, should be joyful and happy, that they were buffeted for 
the sake of the truth, and were made to endure the scorn of 
the ungrateful. The other ministers he exhorted, meanwhile, 
faithfully and quietly to dispense the Word and the sacraments 
to the pious and the faithful, till the decision of the elector 
should arrive ; and at the same time he addressed a letter to 
" all pious Christians at Zwickau, amidst the false brethren," 
in which he says : " That it would have to be so, God and his 
servants would everywhere have to be persecuted, from with- 
out by tyranny, from within by false brethren and ungrateful 
men, who, nevertheless, would claim to be pious, and to be in 
the right. Therefore," added he, " my faithful prayer and ex- 
hortation to you all is, to suffer those crazy heads to pursue 
their destruction, patiently remaining quiet, and striving with 
no one on account of the matter, not deeming them worthy 
that you should destroy your quiet and peace on their account. 
Let them proceed ; they are the enemies of God, and God is 
their enemy ; and such I shall esteem them. Now, this very 
thing is punishment enough for them, that God is their enemy. 
For they have a great and fearful enemy, whom they now con- 



438 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



fidently despise, but whose wrath they shall in due time bitter, 
ly feel." That they themselves should faithfully continue in 
the doctrine which they had received, and if they were con- 
strained to hear preaching, or to obtain the sacraments at St. 
Catherine's, and to endure other preachers, also in the paro- 
chial church, they should without hesitation, provided they 
taught the truth, hear them, and without fear of committing 
sin, obtain the sacraments from them, since the Word and the 
sacraments belonged to God, and not to men. 

Luther with difficulty, and through the co-operation of others,, 
prevailed with the elector and his counsellors, that they did 
not again force Hausmann upon the " Zwickau beasts," but 
graciously dismissed him, under the condition, nevertheless, of 
his not betaking himself into any other state, as the prince 
himself wished to give him another appointment. He himself 
desired Hausmann, whom the Zwickau people refused even 
what they were yet in arrears to him, to come to him ; he had 
arranged a small room for him, and made every preparation, 
and informed him how very happy he would be to have him 
with him ; and on Hausmann's still delaying, he again wrote 
to him : " Do not imagine that you will be burdensome to me : 
on the contrary, you will be a source of joy and comfort to me, 
and I wish that I might have you with me all my life. It 
should not be difficult for me to maintain you, yea, it would be 
an easy matter, and a good opportunity for your sake to refuse 
to the ungrateful and the obtruding, what otherwise cannot 
well be refused them." 

It was in this year also, (on the 30th June, 1531,) that Lu- 
ther's mother died. On his receiving the information concern- 
ing her illness, it deeply grieved him that he could not be pre- 
sent with her in the body, wherefore he sent her a communi- 
cation, in order also to do his part, and to assist in comforting 
her. He reminded her, that, as by the grace of God she well 
knew, her sickness was His paternal, gracious rod, and quite 
insignificant compared with what He dispensed over the wick- 
ed, and often even over his own dear children ; wherefore she 
should not be distressed on account of it, but thankfully receive 
it, remembering how insignificant such suffering was, com- 
pared with the sufferings of His own Son, our Lord Jesus 
Christ, which He had endured not for himself, but for us and 
our sins. He points her to the true ground of salvation, upon 
which she should base her hope in this and all distresses. 




Published. 



H Litdwi£ & C? K Y 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



439 



namely, to the corner-stone, Jesus Christ, who would not fail us, 
nor suffer us to sink or perish ; further, he requests her to praise 
God for having granted her such knowledge, and not permitted 
her to continue in those papistical errors, according to which 
men had been taught to trust in their own works and the ho- 
liness of the monks ; and who would have us to look upon our 
only comfort, our Saviour, not as a comforter, but as a cruel 
judge and tyrant, so that they had been constrained to flee 
from him to Mary and the saints. " May the Father and God 
of all consolation," says he, in conclusion, " through His holy 
Word and Spirit, grant you a firm , joyful and grateful faith, 
that you may blessedly overcome this and all distress, and 
finally taste and experience that it is true what He himself 
says: Be of good courage, I have overcome the world. And 
herewith I commend your body and soul to His mercy, Amen. 
All your children, and my Kate, pray for you. Some are weep- 
ing, some are saying : Grandmother is very sick. The grace 
of God be with us all. Amen." 

In the following year, Luther was much afflicted through 
the death of the pious elector. The latter had already in the 
beginning of the year been very ill, and it had been found ne- 
cessary to amputate the great toe on his left foot. Luther 
visited him twice, for the purpose of comforting him, and call- 
ed upon his friends, wife and children to pray for the elector 
and for himself, for he himself suffered so greatly from giddi- 
ness and the assaults of Satan, that he almost despaired of his 
life, and of his return to his family ; and, because he at that 
time was engaged with writing the Preface to the Prophets, 
but could not succeed in finishing it, he called upon Veit Diet- 
rich : "My head is no longer equal to such labours. There- 
fore do you see to it, if I should die, that you employ your skill 
and eloquence upon the preface." On Maundy-Thursday, Lu- 
ther, accordingly, with great joy received a letter from the 
elector, and in his reply, he praised God that he had not de- 
spised his prayer, but had graciously turned the illness of the 
prince ; and he comforted the latter with the hope, that there 
would be no danger either here or there, though he had been 
made to suffer somewhat severely. But on the 15th of August, 
the elector, being then at Schweinitz, whither he had come on 
account of the chase, was seized with so vehement a pain in 
his head, that he soon lost his speech, and lay there for twenty- 
eight hours without motion, without hearing, or understanding. 



440 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 



On the following Friday, Luther, Melanchthon and Dr* Augus- 
tine Schurf, arrived from Wittenberg : then the elector lifted up 
both his hands, but soon suffered them to sink again, and so 
expired. " Alas," said Luther, when he saw him die, " that 
so a great prince should die here, away from his family ; that 
not a son, cousin, or other relative is near him, in his last mo- 
ments !" The physicians say that the cramp was the cause of 
his death. Just as little children are born without care, live 
without care, and die without care : so will our dear prince, 
Duke John, feel at the last day, as if he had come from the 
Lochian heath, from the chase, and will not know what has 
happened unto him ; as Isaiah saith : The righteous is removed, 
and layeth himself down in his chamber and bed of rest." On 
the following Sunday, the corpse was brought to Wittenberg, 
and interred beside the elector Frederick. Luther delivered 
the funeral sermon ; from 1 Thess. iv. 13-18, amidst many 
tears; Melanchthon, a Latin speech. Concerning the elector, 
Luther said in the sermon : " Because Paul, therefore, as you 
hear, thus praises the dead, we are diligently to thank God for 
his mercy, that he has also embraced our dear elector in the 
death of Christ and his resurrection. For you know what kind 
of a death he suffered at the Diet of Augsburg. I do not wish 
to extol him for his exalted virtue, but suffer him to remain a 
sinner like we ourselves all are, who also expect to travel the 
same road, and to commit many great sins into our Lord God's 
keeping, that we may abide in the article which is called : For- 
giveness of sin. Bat I do not wish to represent our dear 
sovereign as so very pure, although he was a very pious and 
amiable man, free from all guile, in whom I never in my life 
discovered any pride, wrath, or envy, who could easily bear 
and forgive every thing, and was more than kind. These his 
virtues I now pass by. If he with all these good traits, at 
times failed in the government, what shall we say to it ? A 
prince is also a frail being, and always has ten devils surround- 
ing him where another man has only one, so that God must 
specially guide him and guard him by his angels. When we 
then perceive that princes at times err in the administration, 
we immediately imagine, that we would manage the matter 
better, and in our conceits would drive the cart directly into 
the mire, or perhaps wholly upset it, if we had to govern ; so 
that nobody can please us ; and if we examine ourselves close- 
ly, we will find that we are far from what we ought to be. 



■V 



1EMCTM MME TUBE CflJWMANT. 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 



441 



All this we shall now pass by, and continue in this, that we 
praise him, as St. Paul praises his Christians, that God will 
lead him forth with Christ, and shall regard him not according 
to his temporal death, but according to the death of Christ and 
his spiritual death, in which he imitated Christ. For you all 
know how he, two years ago, in imitation of Christ, suffered 
the true death at Augsburg, not for himself alone, but for us 
all, when he was made to bear all the bitter reproach and op- 
position which the devil excited against him ; that is the true 
and terrible death, by which the devil consumes. There our 
dear elector publicly, before the whole world, confessed the 
death and the resurrection of Christ, and abode in this confes- 
sion, hazarding the loss of his dominions, and people ; yea, of 
his own body and life. How severe this death is, he, no doubt, 
fully experienced in his soul. Because, therefore, that confes- 
sion is public and known, we will on account of it extol him 
as a Christian. But if with this there was any deficiency in 
him, we pass it by. For we wish not to estimate such small 
defects in so great a personage so highly, but shall, on the con- 
trary, boast, that he confessed the death and the resurrection 
of Christ, with which he swallowed up death, and hell, and all 
sin, and firmly abode in this confession. This abounds and 
swallows up the multitude of sins, as a large sea does a spark 
of fire. Therefore, all other sins are nothing, when opposed 
to this one point, that we do not deny the death and the resur- 
rection of Christ, but publicly confess them." 

Therefore, we are to comfort ourselves with this, that 
Christ has died, and our dear prince has been embraced and 
fallen asleep in the death of Christ, having suffered a much 
severer death at Augsburg than now, which we daily, and 
without ceasing, have to suffer from the tyrants and fanatics, 
yea, also, perhaps from our own consciences, and from Satan. 
This is the true death : the other bodily death, when we expire 
upon the bed, is merely a child's death, or a brute's death; but 
the former is the true manly death, which still is before us, and 
we would sooner yield up a second life (if it were possible) than 
deny the man who is called Christ Jesus. That may well be 
ealled a manly and true death, of which also St. Paul, 1 Cor. 
15, says: I protest by your rejoicing, which I have in Christ 
Jesus, I die daily. The other death is, when simply reason 
and the five senses die, so that the eyes do not see any more, 
the ears hear no more, the hands feel no more, &c. So an 



442 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



animal also dies, it is merely an outward decaying of the poor 
filthy mass of corruption, the body ; it is a child's death com- 
pared with the former. This death our dear prince now also 
has died, so that it was perfectly manifest, that it was a mere 
child's death. For our Lord God so ordered his death, that he 
did not suffer any of the true buffetings, nor dispute much with 
Satan, as is the case with some, who, because of great mental 
distress, occasioned them by Satan, with regard to sin, the final 
judgment, hell and the like, fall into despair and agonize, till 
in their anguish they perspire at every pore, and perhaps even 
expire under the influence of it. This is a true death, and 
not a child's death. But when death comes as it did to our 
dear prince, so that the body simply remains upon the bed, 
without any terror or trembling, because having through bap- 
tism been called to the kingdom of Christ, he afterwards free- 
ly confessed Christ, and with all diligence, earnestness, and 
joyfulness heard God's Word, so that only the five senses ex- 
pire ; this is the most insignificant death, and merely the hull 
of death, it being only a wrestling with bodily death, al- 
though to us untried people it seems the most terrible of all." 

Luther himself suffered greatly at this time. In the year 
previous he suffered from the buzzing in his head. Having 
once in consequence of it, paid a visit to the hereditary mar- 
shal of Saxony, John Loser, 1 he soon after dedicated to him 
the Exposition of the 147th Psalm, and wrote to him: "Grace 
and peace in Christ. Worthy, honourable, dear sir and friend ! 
When I was lately with you. in the hope of overcoming the 
buzzing and weakness in my head through bodily exercise, and 
you showed me great honour and friendship, also taking me 
with you to the chase. I likewise, at the same time, pursued 
my spiritual chase in the carriage, and captured the 147th 
Psalm : Lauda Jerusalem, with its exposition, for this is the 
most delightful chase and noblest game for me. Having now 
brought this home with me, and duly prepared it, I thought I 
would inform you of it, that I might not with an evil conscience 
secretly retain such property acquired upon your soil, and thus 
be found not only ungrateful but also injurious : I therefore send 
to your grace, as much as there is of it, whole and entire, and 
yet retain it whole and entire for myself also. For such game 
can be strangely divided among friends, so that every one re- 
ceives the whole of it, and yet the other does not lose anything. 
I pray your grace kindly to accept this, for I am ready to serve 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



your grace. Herewith I commend you, and your dear domes- 
tic vine and clusters, to God. Amen. Saturday after St. Lu- 
cia, 1531." 

In January, 1532, Luther had a presentiment of a disease 
that awaited him ; and he, in fact, said beforehand, that in 
March, he would be taken severely ill ; the disease did not, how- 
ever, delay so long ; for on the 22d he was attacked by a vio- 
lent illness, so that he was constrained to keep his bed the 
whole day : towards four o'clock he experienced an excessive 
humming in his ears, which was succeeded by great faintness 
of the heart. He immediately sent for Philip Melanchthon 
and Magister Rorer, in order to have some one with whom to 
converse, and to whose conversation he might listen. " As we 
now there incidentally observed," — one of them relates — " that 
if he should die at this time, it would excite great scandal 
among the papists ; " he rejoined with energy : " But I shall 
not die now, of that I am assured ; for God will not confirm 
the abominations of the papists through my death, 2 at this 
time, in which Zwinglius and (Ecolampadius have perished. 
God will not afford them such opportunity for exultation. Sa- 
tan truly would gladly destroy me, if he could ; he is continual- 
ly upon my heels ; but he shall be disappointed, and the Lord's 
will shall be accomplished." Then Philip said : " Of that we 
are fully assured, for Christ says : All the hairs upon your head 
are numbered" The physician also was present, and he, hav- 
ing examined him, remarked, that his disease betokened apo- 
plexy, and that he would scarcely recover. The doctor hear- 
ing this, said : " I cannot believe that my illness is natural, but 
I suspect Satan in the game, therefore ; I despise it so much the 
more." 

When Luther was with the sick elector, he himself suffered 
greatly from giddiness ; (see above p. 439 ;) and also, when he 
congratulated him on his recovery, he complained, that his 
head was still somewhat in subjection to the enemy of all 
good and health, who would sometimes take a ride across his 
brain, and wholly prevent him from reading and writing. 
" You do not know," 3 said he at table, "what a troublesome 
thing this giddiness, humming and buzzing in the head is. I 
dare not write a letter now, without pausing, and I can 
scarcely read two or three lines in the psalter, nor can I look 
fixedly at a thing for any length of time, or closely meditate upon 
any subject without intermission ; for this humming in my ears 



444 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



instantly returns, and nearly causes me to sink upon the bench." 
Not till June did he begin gradually again to recover, and this 
through the prayers of his friends, as he said, for of the powers 
of nature he had despaired. 

But although weak himself, he nevertheless, during this 
time, wrote many letters of consolation to persons who were 
distressed or spiritually afflicted. Thus among others to the 
father of a pious youth, John Zink, who had been studying at 
Wittenberg, and died there. He stated how calmly and gent- 
ly the same had fallen asleep, with so good a confession, faith 
and rationality, that there could be no doubt, he was happy 
with God, his true Father, forever ; " wherefore," he added, 
" though he should have lived longer, you could with your mo- 
ney not have advanced him farther than to some office or ser- 
vice ; but now he occupies a station which he would not be will- 
ing to exchange for the whole world, not even for a moment." 

A prince (his name is not given) who was in great distress, 
he admonished thus : " I pray your princely grace, as much as 
possible, to resist your own thoughts, which after all are not 
your own, but assuredly occasioned by Satan. Our Lord is 
not so wrathful as we are disposed to imagine to ourselves : 
but he tries us, to see whether we are ready also in honour of 
Him to suffer something that deserves the name of suffering, 
because He, being innocent, willingly took upon himself such 
unspeakable suffering for our sins, and all this in accordance 
with the most gracious pleasure of his Father, our merciful 
God. Such suffering of his dear Son truly is so great, that, 
rightly considered, as he endured it for our sake, it should cause 
us to estimate our suffering lightty, and where his suffering 
was gall and vinegar, to deem ours no more than a good wine 
or malmsey. Truly, He is our gracious God, whose pledge we 
have, nameh*. His Son. dispensed to us through baptism, the 
Lord's Supper and the Gospel, so that we are not to doubt, and 
cannot doubt of His mercy, come what may. Of what conse- 
quence is it now, if body and life, father and mother, brothers, 
kingdom, principality, honour and power, and everything else 
upon the earth, fails us, if only this blessing remains to us, that 
^ God is our lather, His Son our brother, His heaven and crea- 
tion our inheritance, and all the angels and saints our brothers 
and sisters ? What we lose here amounts scarcely to the loss 
of a farthing, and there we obtain instead of it not a kingdom 
or heaven, or earth, but God himself and eternal life." 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



445 



The Magdeburg Chancellor, Dr. Zoch, from whom God had 
taken away a beloved wife, he comforted, saying : " Just as 
Christ had not only to be hated and persecuted by Satan and 
a wicked world, but also, at last, to be stricken and afflicted of 
God ; so also it must be with us Christians, that God himself, 
of whom we are to expect all comfort, smites us at last, whilst 
the wicked, on the other hand, seem to be beloved and exalted 
not only by the world, but also by God, that their boasting 
might be twofold and our grief twofold. Thus — it has now 
also happened to you ; but be firm, and remember that Christ, 
who fared much worse, was at last not forsaken of God, who 
had so afflicted him, but came forth with honour. Thus God 
will also lead us forth with him. " Therefore — although the 
flesh murmurs and exclaims, as Christ also himself exclaimed 
and became weak, (Ps. xxii. 2 ; Matt, xxvii. 46,) yet is the spirit 
to remain ready and willing, and with unutterable sighs to 
pray, Abba, Father ! (Rom. viii. 15), that is, thy rod is severe, 
but thou remainest Father, of that I am assured. May our 
gracious Lord and Redeemer, yea, our lovely Pattern in all ^ 
our sufferings, comfort you and impress himself upon your 
heart, in order that you may accomplish this sacrifice of an 
afflicted spirit, and yield up to Him your Isaac ! Amen." 

The brother of his beloved Nicholas Hausmann, Valentine, 
he exhorted to consider the temptation of terror and unbelief, 
which had befallen him, as a chastisement sent him from God, 
and to praise God, that he was thus the more urged to pray, to 
seek help and to say with the Gospel : Lord, increase my faith. 
Further, that he would here have to contend, and not to re- 
main quiet, or to look on and to wait till this terror would end 
of itself, otherwise the matter would grow worse continually. 
That he would have to pray against it with power, and also 
distinctly, clearly and fervently, to repeat the Lord's Prayer. 
For that he would above all things have to be assured, and not 
to doubt at all, but that it was of Satan ; for that God wished 
us to resist, and He permitted such things to befall us, that He 
might hear our fervent prayer, and afford us help. " For un- 
der such circumstances you must accustom yourself" — says he 
— " not long to scuffle with the temptation, according to your 
own thoughts, without God's Word, and not to wait till it cease 
of itself, but see that you faithfully attend to prayer and to 
God's Word at such time. Although at other times you are 
not to omit, when you can, to pray against it ; in this way, by 



446 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 



the help of God, it will at length grow better. For without 
the Word of God on our side, the enemy is too strong for us ; 
but prayer and God's Word he cannot endure. Herewith 
adieu. Amen." 

To another person, the Captain Jonas Von Stockhausen, ot~Sov&- 
hausen, of whom he had heard that Satan was severely tempt- 
ing him with satiety of life and a wish for death, he said, that it 
was high time for him to cease trusting and following his own 
thoughts, but that he ought to follow other people, who were 
free from such temptation. That he should above all things re- 
member die necessity of obeying God ; and because he knew to 
a certainty, that God gave him life, and did not wish him to 
die, he could not at all doubt, but that such thoughts, leading 
to disobedience towards God, were certainly forced into his 
heart by Satan. That he would, therefore, have to resist them 
with firmness, and even forcibly to expel them. That our 
Lord Jesus Christ also had been severely and bitterly afflicted 
in this life, but that he still had not wished to die in opposition 
i to the will of His Father. That Elijah, Jonah, and other pro- 
phets, having become weary of- life in consequence of great 
distress, had cried out for death, but had nevertheless been 
constrained to live, and to bear such satiety, till their hour had 
come. That he would have to heed such words and exam- 
ples, as words and admonitions of the Holy Ghost, and utterly 
to banish all opposing thoughts, no matter how difficult it 
might be for him. " Therefore " — continues he — " you must 
be firm and resolute towards yourself, and sternly say to your- 
self: My good fellow, and if thou wert never so unwilling to 
live, thou shalt live in spite of thyself, and I will have thee to 
live for me ; for God wills it so, and so do I will it. Begone, 
diabolical thoughts, to the abyss of hell ! with your dying and 
death, you have nothing that concerns you here, &c, and thus 
grit your teeth against such thoughts, and in the name of God put 
on so determined a face, and in this respect make it more ob- 
stinate and self-willed than any stubborn peasant, yea, harder 
than any anvil or iron. If you thus attack yourself, and con- 
tend against yourself, God will surely sustain you. But if you 
do not resist and defend yourself, but leave such thoughts at 
full liberty to plague you, you will soon have lost the mastery. 
But the best thing of all would be, not to contend at all with 
them, but to despise them, and to act as if you did not feel 
them ; always thinking of something else, and saying to them, 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



447 



Satan, do not disturb me, I will not attend to thy though t| ; I 
must take a ride, must eat and drink, do this or that ; or, I 
have to be joyous now; come again to-morrow, &c. Seek 
amusement and diversion, that you may be delivered from such 
thoughts and despise them, bidding them begone, with earnest 
and determined language." He at the same time wrote to the 
wife of this man, comforted her, and said, Satan hated both of 
them, because they loved Christ, and he advised her by no 
means to leave her husband alone for a moment, since solitude 
was most pernicious to him. But that they should frequently 
read to him anecdotes, accounts of recent occurrences, and 
strange things, no matter if these were at times gross and false 
inventions, and stories about Turks and Tartars and the like, 
if he might in this way be excited to laughter and joyfulness ; 
and that then they should immediately follow it up with con- 
soling passages of Scripture. 

On the 4th of October, 1532, Luther wrote to those citizens 
of Leipzig who had been exiled because of the Gospel, and 
who intended to address a supplication to their prince, in which 
he encouraged them, saying, that if it accomplished no good, it 
would do no injury, but prosper them before God ; and he ex- 
horted them to be of good courage, observing that sorrow went 
before laughter. So he also (under date of the 20th Jan. 1533) 
exhorted those citizens, male and female, who had been exiled 
from Oschatz, to be assured and not to doubt, but that their 
flight and distress were very acceptable to God in heaven, and 
that this was sufficient. That they should sing with King 
David, according to the 56th Psalm : " Lord, thou tellest my wan- 
derings, put thou my tears into thy bottle ; are they not in thy 
book ? Duke George having further issued an edict, requiring 
every person at Leipzig to receive the Lord's Supper under 
one kind at Easter, and several citizens having written to Dr. 
Luther and inquired of him, whether they could with a good 
conscience comply with this demand, in order to satisfy their 
government; Luther (on the 11th April) replied: "Because I 
have no personal knowledge of any of you, neither know what 
is the state of your hearts and consciences, this is the best 
counsel I can give : He, that is informed of it, and in his con- 
science believes it to be the Word and order of God, that both 
kinds are to be received, he is in no wise to act in opposition to 
his conscience, that is, to God himself. But now that Duke 
George ventures even to inquire into the secrets of conscience, 



448 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



he would well, as an apostle of the devil, deserve to be deceiv- 
ed, and this might be done ; for he is not at all authorized to 
make such demands, but sins against God and the Holy Ghost. 
As we, however, are to consider, not what other and wicked 
men do, whether they be murderers and robbers, but what it 
behooves us to suffer and to do i the best course to be pursued 
in this case is, boldly to tell the robber and murderer to his face, 
I shall not do this ; if thou now deprivest me of body and life, 
thou deprivest one higher than me, and to Him thou shalt with- 
out fail make restoration, as Peter says, 1 Pet. iv : Jesus Christus 
paratus est, judicare vivos et mortuos, (Jesus Christ is ready 
to judge the quick and the dead.) Therefore, only proceed, 
good robber ; that which thou wishest, I do not wish ; but what 
I wish, God will also wish, and that you shall experience. For 
we must strike Satan in the face with the cross, and not sing 
much to him, or make our court to him ; this will teach him to 
know with whom he is dealing. May Christ, our Lord, 
strengthen you, and be with you. Amen. Given at Witten- 
berg, on Good Friday, in the year 1533." 

This letter had been carried about among the citizens, so 
that the council had obtained a copy of it, and transmitted it 
to Duke George, who immediately complained to the elector 
of Luther, that the latter had denominated him an apostle of 
the devil, and was instigating his subjects to rebellion, where- 
fore he desired that the elector would restrain him. Upon this 
the elector, among other things, wrote to Luther: That if his 
intention was in any way to excite the subjects of his cousin, 
or of any other princes, to insurrection, he, the elector, could by 
no means tolerate this, and would not omit to execute the 
proper punishment against him ; that he, however, trusted, 
this was not his design, and that he would, therefore, have to 
defend himself with regard to this charge, so as to make his 
innocence manifest. Luther accordingly forthwith wrote the 
treatise : Defence with regard to the charge of insurrection pre- 
ferred against me by Duke George, which he also caused to be 
printed and published. In this he observes, in the first place, 
that Duke George certainly knew from his little book concern- 
ing stolen letters, (see vol. ii. p. 200.) that he was not to med- 
dle with his private letters ; but that because he was misre- 
presenting him to his sovereign, he would own the letter and 
defend it, although he was not in possession of his own manu- 
script now, but of a copy of it, which had passed through many 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 



449 



hands, and upon which he could therefore not confidently rely. 
That he, according to this, advised the pious people sooner to 
lose property and life, than in opposition to Christ to deny both 
kinds, or in obedience to the command of Duke George to re- 
ceive one kind. Now a child knew that such was true Chris- 
tian doctrine, which directed the people to suffer, to risk and to 
forsake property and life, for the sake of God's Word. That a 
rebel did not teach men to suffer, or to yield up property and 
life, but persuaded them not to yield to the government, espe- 
cially not to tyrants, but to deprive them of possessions, hon- 
our, power and life. But if, in this letter, Duke George was 
called the devil's apostle, this was not saying too much against 
his honour. He knew, indeed, that before the world Duke 
George was invested with princely honour, and was a noble 
prince of the empire ; but before God, and in spiritual things, 
he could not allow him any honour, unless it were the honour 
of Pilate, Herod, Judas, and the like, who had condemned and 
put to death Christ and his apostles because of God's Word. 
That he, however, had wished with such odious names to ex- 
hibit Duke George in his true character, for the greater com- 
fort of those pious people, that they might the more firmly 
abide in God's Word ; for this purpose he had drawn their at- 
tention to the devil's mask which Duke George had put on, 
that they might perceive the crafty manoeuvre, and know, that 
such command did not proceed from their government, accord- 
ing to divine order, but from Satan and his disorder ; that they 
might not suffer it to disturb them, as if they were disobeying 
their government, but be assured that they were here resisting 
the devil, and notwithstanding, continued to be pious, faithful, 
and obedient subjects towards their government. The remark, 
however, that they should strike the devil in the face with the 
cross, Duke George certainly would not interpret as inciting to 
insurrection, unless he meant to call himself a devil ; it was 
evident, moreover, that the cross was not an iron or wooden 
cross, much less a great gun or culverin, since the devil could 
not be vanquished with such weapons. That if it, however, 
was indicative of any skill, to give malicious interpretations, 
he also would interpret for Duke George the oath, which he 
had imposed upon his subjects at Leipzig, requiring them to 
swear, that they would aid in condemning and persecuting the 
Lutheran doctrine, thereby exciting war against the elector, 
the landgrave and their relatives, and that such interpretation 

29 



450 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



would follow far better from the oath, than the charge of in- 
surrection from the letter. That Duke George, by this accusa- 
tion, only betrayed the bitterness, hatefulness and virulence of 
his heart towards him, from which he could not free him, and 
which he could not change, though he sincerely wished him a 
better disposition. " God be praised," added he, " that I have 
no bitter or hateful heart towards him or any other man on 
earth. Therefore, I also enjoy peace and perfect quiet ; but 
those that in their bitterness hate me, torment themselves, and 
their rage returns upon their own heads, they being their own 
devils, having no rest or peace as long as I live or my name 
continues. But, by the grace of God, I will always continue 
steadfast ifi Christ our Lord, with whom I must innocently 
bear the hateful and malicious charge of insurrection, for even 
He himself was crucified as a rebel, and suspended between 
two murderers," &c. 

In conclusion he says, that if the world were capable of gra- 
titude, and he had taught and done nothing else that was good, 
except that he had exhibited the temporal government in its 
proper light ; he justly, on account of this one thing, ought to 
have gratitude and favour shown him, because no one, since 
the times of the apostles, had so nobly and clearly confirmed, 
instructed and comforted the consciences of those in temporal 
stations, as he had done. That of this he boasted, and it was 
ridiculous, in view of his labours in this respect, to bring 
against him charges of insurrection. That his books were his 
witnesses. That he, however, would point out the true rebels. 
That there were still extant books, in which it was maintain- 
ed, that temporal stations were dangerous and accursed ; on 
which account also, princes and lords had, upon their dying 
beds, caused themselves to be habited in monks' hoods, and 
thus to be buried, by which they had denied Christ, despised 
their baptism and the sacraments, and condemned the tempo- 
ral stations. That if this doctrine and such examples had been 
followed, the whole world would at last have become silly 
pates. " Behold," added he, " those are they of whom St. Peter, 
2 Epistle ii. 1, declares, " There will also be false teachers among 
you, who privily will bring in damnable heresies, even denying 
the Lord that bought them. And many will follow their perni- 
cious ways. They despise government , and. are not a fraid to speak 
evil of dignities. What is meant here by despising government 
and speaking evil of dignities ? Duke George says, rebuking 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 



451 



a prince, or telling him what he does not like to hear. Truly, 
beloved, that is harsh, but not the harshest. It is no disgrace 
to princes or kings, who are invested with dominion and dig- 
nity, to be rebuked, when this is done through the Word and 
office of God ; for God is their Lord, and they are not angels, 
neither are they so immaculately pure before God. But that 
is despising government and speaking evil of dignities, when 
men go further and do not rebuke the person alone, but blas- 
pheme the office, refusing to consider government and dignity * 
blessed, good, divine stations, and teaching that they are dan- 
gerous, insecure and accursed, thus deterring the persons in 
such stations from continuing in them, causing them to be dis- 
turbed, fearful, and distressed in their consciences, so that they 
begin to hate and to despise their stations as being unworthy, 
unacceptable, and accursed in the sight of God, wherefore they 
seek and strive after some other station, and either wholly for- 
sake their divine calling, or at least continue in it only with 
an evil conscience, and reluctantly discharge the duties of it. 
It is to such traitors and blasphemers, that St. Peter here re- 
fers ; and such is the doctrine, faith and work of the pope and 
his clergy, as is known, and as we daily have examples be- 
fore us. 

At the same time with this defence there appeared, "A letter 
of consolation to those Christians who have innocently been ex- 
iled from Leipzig by Duke George" (because they had refused to 
receive the sacrament under one kind at Easter.) " The first 
consolation," said he in this communication, " was, that they 
were fully assured in their hearts, and did not doubt of its be- 
ing the gift and work of God in them, that they had freely con- 
fessed Christ, and on account of this confession suffered as they 
did. The second, that they also before the world suffered in- 
nocently, and not as disobedient citizens or subjects, since they 
had demeaned themselves uprightly and honestly towards 
their government and neighbours, as far as temporal right and 
authority could demand. That it, in the third place, also was 
a powerful and mighty consolation, to remember the cause of 
their suffering and exile, namely, their refusal to deny any doc- 
trine of the Gospel, and to worship any of the abominations of 
the pope." "Here your heart is justly to rejoice," says he, 
" that you have come out of the city and out of the country in 
which you were required to deny and to oppose the word of 
grace and forgiveness of sin, and the doctrine that we become 



152 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



righteous, and are saved: without merit, alone through Christ." 
That they, in the fourth place, were to derive no little consola- 
tion from it ; that they already saw and witnessed the wrath 
which had overtaken Duke George : since the latter had not 
at all expected that he was so greatly despised by his subjects, 
'that in the single city of Leipzig so many citizens (with their 
attendants, some eight hundred persons) should so very boldly 
, and publicly despise his wrath and rage, as to be found will- 
ing sooner to leave his dominions, than to consent to a single 
letter of his wrath and opposition to Christ. That their exile,, 
in the fifth place, also afforded consolation in this, that by it 
they publicly declared themselves free of all innocent blood 
which the murderous papists had, for the last twelve years... 
shed on account of this doctrine, with sword, fire, water, and 
all manner of torments. " Finally," continues he, " let us h^ve 
patience for a little while, and see what is God's design ; they 
will not rave thus forever. Such great things have, through 
the power of God, come to pass during these twelve years after 
the Diet of Worms, as no person had thought of, or expected ; 
and in addition to this, many of the bloodhounds and murder- 
ers, who every year made sure of devouring us, have perished 
under the manifest, terrible judgments of God. Who knows 
what God will accomplish after this Diet of Augsburg, before 
ten years have passed, which soon will have coursed away, 
and are but a moment of time with God ? " — — — "In 
short, to conclude, if we look at the matter in the light of faith, 
and regard the words of Christ as true, Duke George has, with 
his wrath and raving, done you greater service, and conferred 
greater honour upon you, than not only he, but not even all the 
world, with all its favours, riches, and power, could have done 
you, or conferred upon you. For he has caused your hearts 
and consciences to become very free and confident, since through 
his raving you are certain (and can point to the fact) that you 
suffer for Christ's sake, and thus have been made conformable 
to the image of the Son of God, (as St. Paul teaches, Rom. viii.,) 
and of all the saints." Finally, he notices a report that an 
opinion of his should have reached them, which made it allow- 
able to set aside both kinds in the sacrament, and to use only 
one kind, especially because the government had required this, 
and thus danger could be avoided ; that he, moreover, was 
himself "hot certain of his cause, and therefore his doctrine 
could not be depended upon. Upon this he replied : " What 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION 



453 



shall I say here — examine my writings and public confessions ? 
and these are numerous. So also our Confession and Apology 
now in circulation, and many other books of our people. There 
are as examples, the usages and observances in our churches, 
by which we superabundantly demonstrate what we believe 
and consider true. Those whom all this does not satisfy, and 
who are resolved to babble differently concerning us, or to suf- 
fer themselves to be differently persuaded concerning us, are 
not to imagine that we sit here for the purpose of noticing 

every one that circulates or gives heed to idle tales." 

u Therefore, dear friends, continue and remain firm, and suffer 
no one to disturb you, giving heed to no babbling, even if it 
should proceed from some of our people ; but turn to our Con- 
fession and Apology, and to the actual observances, as found 
in our churches ; then you will not suffer us to be misrepresent- 
ed, nor will you believe idle talk, to our discredit." 

In opposition to this .treatise, Cochleus wrote a very violent 
defence of Duke George ; but Luther receiving the same through 
the Wittenberg jurist, Benedict Paulus, who had been in Dres- 
den at that time, and procured several sheets in the printing- 
office, immediately applied himself to refute it, so that his trea- 
tise might appear at the same time with that of Cochleus, at 
the Leipzig Michaelmas fair. But because Cochleus had caused 
the armorial bearing of Duke George to be impressed upon his 
defence, he entitled his own : Short answer* to the next book of 
Duke George. In this he defends himself chiefly against the 
charge of being a perjured, apostate monk, and shows that pre- 
cisely those are perjured, and den}*- Christ, who compare with 
the sufferings and blood of Christ, the works not only of true 
saints, which of itself already was wrong, but also their own 
uncertain works, and those of their monasticism; but that those 
who escaped from such connections and such monasticism, 
were blessed apostates, renegades, and perjurers. 3 

Luther repeatedly, during this time, (1532,) gave cautions 
against the fanatics, especially against the Anabaptists. Thus, 
for instance, because he heard that the Anabaptists were 
sneaking about in the region around Eisenach, preaching to 
the labourers in the harvest fields during their labours, and al- 
so to the eolliers and lonely people in the woods, thus scatter- 
ing their seed in all directions, he publicly addressed to the 
bailiff of the Wartburg, Eberhard von der Tannen, a missive 
concerning sneaking and clandestine preachers, in which he par- 



454 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



ticularly insists, that, even if such sneakers were otherwise 
immaculate and perfect saints, yet did this single thing, that 
they sneaked about, without command and calling, irresistibly 
convict them of being the devil's apostles and teachers, and 
required us to regard them as such. That it was only with 
great difficulty and labour that those preached aright ? and con- 
tinued in the true doctrine, who had a certain calling and 
command either from God himself or from men, by the appoint- 
ment of God ; what then would result from preaching without 
the command of God, yea, in opposition to the command and 
prohibition of God, wholly at the urging and instigation of the 
devil ? That this truly could not be anything but substantial- 
ly the doctrine of the devil, it might be glossed over ever so 
much. " I have often said it," added he, " and still say it, I 
would not take the world for my doctorate ; for, verily, 1 would 
at last wholly have to despair in the great and weighty cause 
which I have undertaken, if I had, as a sneaker, begun it with- 
out a regular calling and command/'* Wherefore he calls up- 
on both spiritual and temporal authorities to resist the sneak- 
ers^ which would be best accomplished by demanding of them 
their commission. 

Count von Schlick he exhorted, for the sake of Joachims- 
thal, because the fanatics and sneakers could easily gain a foot- 
ing there, in consequence of the various kinds of people, firmly 
to maintain the pure Word of God, and to keep a close eye up- 
on such devil's seed, since a small spark would cause a great 
fire, and a little leaven would leaven a whole lump. So he 
also warned the town-council of Sosst against John Campanus^ 
who made his stay there, lest he might occasion sects or insur- 
rection. That they should be diligent in ridding themselves of 
the man, that he was already convicted, and that there was no. 
doubt but that Satan was the guest of their town in him. 
Finally, he also wrote to the council of the town of Munster^ 
that he had indeed with joy learned and thanked God, that ho 
had given them His W^ord, and the knowledge of His Son ; that 
he, "however, was apprehensive, lest, as the old enemy always 
sneakingly followed the course of the Word, a false spirit 
might come among them, as had happened to the Corinthians, 
and Galatians, subsequently to the preaching of Paul. That 
they should, therefore, if they loved their spiritual and tempo- 
ral peace, beware of false spirits. He had heard, namely,, 
that several sacramentarian fanatics were sneaking ahout ift 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



455 



Westphalia, endeavouring to gain a footing in those cities, 
which had but lately received the Gospel. And, therefore, he 
exhorted the preacher, Bernard Rothmann, through whose in- 
strumentality the town of Miinster had been converted, that he 
should not only be on his guard against them himself, but also 
secure his congregation against them." 4 

Luther was very much troubled about a disunion among the 
Nuremberg preachers. In the beginning of the year, 1532, he 
had heard it whispered, that a secret dissatisfaction was creep- 
ing in among them, and he immediately had written to his 
friend Wenceslaus Link, and prayed him to help him to wrestle 
and to watch against this wickedness of the devil, who wished 
to destroy the kingdom of God. In the following year, how- 
ever, an open dispute broke out among them, concerning pub- 
lic and private absolution, concerning the observance of which, 
Luther and Melanchthon submitted their opinion to the coun- 
cil, to the effect, that public or general absolution was not to 
be censured or rejected, since the preaching of the holy Gospel 
itself was, in reality and properly, nothing else but an absolu- 
tion ; but that on the other hand, private absolution durst not 
be suffered to fall, since in this, as in the application, the mean- 
ing of the Gospel and of the power of the keys was more clear- 
ly embraced. To the preachers, however, he writes: "Grace 
and peace in Christ ! Worthy sirs and beloved brethren in 
Christ, if I have ever desired and prayed of the Lord, that He 
would put into my mouth, language which might sound well 
and be effective with those who hear it, I now, above all 
things, wish that this my letter may be effective, and be 
agreeable to your ears and hearts, through the power of the 
holy Spirit. I cannot express in words how greatly the news 
concerning this division among you has disturbed me, as you 
are stationed in this distinguished city as the messengers of 
peace and salvation." Having then observed what an injuri- 
ous and prejudicial influence this division would exert, not only 
upon their own people, but also upon others, and how the Pa- 
pists, Sacramentarians, and Anabaptists, would exult over it; 
and having expressed the suspicion, that this dispute had per- 
haps not originated from this present cause, but that there 
might, perhaps, have existed several old enmities, like sparks 
beneath the ashes, which now, by a slight cause, as a light 
breath, had been kindled into such a conflagration, he proceeds : 
"For if your hearts and your souls had before been one in the 



456 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



Lord ; and the bond of love been perfect, it would have been 
impossible for these trifling shocks to have accomplished as 
much as they, alas, have accomplished. For, how often do 
the fingers severely injure the eye ; the teeth, the tongue ; one 
hand, the other ; and yet do the members, which are concerned 
for one another, reciprocally bear these shocks. You know 
well enough, yourselves, that what is said and done by one, let 
it be never so good and praiseworthy, can be most malicious- 
ly interpreted by a heart which is embittered and suspicious." 
..." But where now remaineth the queen and governess of 
these shocks and ebullitions, charity, namely ? of which the 
Holy Ghost says : charity hideth a multitude of sin ; and again, 
mercy boasteth against judgment ; and again, Forgive, and it 
shall be forgiven you, Do we then, who preach love, mercy 
and forgiveness to others, not wish to suffer any part of love 
to remain to ourselves ? Are we unwilling to bear each other's 
burthen ? Are we resolved to do every thing that judgment 
may boast itself against mercy ? Or are we disposed to re- 
member the word : It is disgraceful for a teacher when his 
own guilt convicts him. Yea, what is dreadful, we excite the 
wrath of God against us, preachers of grace, by yielding 
to our passions, and causing our weak brethren, for whom 
Christ nevertheless has died, to take severe offence at this dan- 
gerous and hateful dispute." ..." Therefore, I pray you, for 
Christ's sake, for the sake of all we possess in him, for the sake 
of our communion in him, diligently and faithfully to exert 
yourselves, by reciprocally exercising patience, humility and 
forgiveness, to cure this evil among you. Think of us at least, 
and cease from causing us new grief, since you cannot deny 
that your wound is our wound, and that if Satan hinders and 
vexes you, we also are hindered and vexed." He then advises 
them, as no injury could grow out of it to the Church, mean- 
while to suffer this matter to lie over to a better time, since, 
with their present frame of mind, it was most pernicious to 
dispute about it. That they would by all means have to esti- 
mate their peace and their love more highly than this busi- 
ness. That they should only conceive Christ to be bodily 
present among them, and should learn from his countenance 
what was the chief point here. That he would without fail 
inform them, if they would only suffer him to stand in the 
midst of them, steadily regard him and bid their cause and 
their passions be silent. That if they had thus become calm, 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



457 



he would say to them nothing else than 'peace be with you, fear 
not ! He would point them to His wounds, and covering over 
their biles and ulcers, would prove the salvation and joy of 
them all. " I would write more," says he in conclusion, " but 
would like personally to converse with you ; I trust, by the help 
of Christ, I would accomplish something. But as you are men 
to whom He has granted his knowledge, I doubt not you will 
perceive from this letter that you have the opportunity to 
understand more than I can write or say to you. But at the 
same time, because you, also, are human beings, and have not 
yet arisen from the dead, it should not surprise us if you should 
have exhibited something of human nature, but only suffer it 
to be and to remain something of human nature, and not of a 
satanic nature. To be angry is human, but it is added, sin 
not ; to feel aggrieved is human, but to be unwilling to be re- 
conciled is diabolical : but not to feel aggrieved, or not to grieve 
any one, is angelic, or what is the same thing, is Christian. As 
we have not attained to this yet, we properly make a begin- 
ning as Christians : namely, when we have not avoided giving 
offence, or have not borne offence, that we reciprocally and 
willingly forgive each other, and humbly ask forgiveness, and 
thus embrace our lives in the prayer : Forgive us our debts as we 
forgive our debtors. May the Lord Jesus Christ himself, our peace 
and our mercy, cause you to rejoice ! that is, may He enable you 
to preserve peace and mercy among yourselves, and to con- 
sume your strife and division in the furnace of love. Amen. 5 

Authorities.— Let. No. 1356, 69, (ell. 73,) 80, 81, 85, 1403, 15, 
18.— Seckend. lib. III. p. 17.— Let No. 1379—1470, Seckend. p. 30. 
—Let. No. 1437, 38.— Spalat. in Seckend. lib. III. p. 32, add.— Table- 
talk, Ed. of Stangw., p. 746. — Seckend. as before. — Works, vol. 12, p. 
230, sq.— Let. No. 1422.— MSS. in Seckend. lib. III. p. 38, (ell. Mel. 
Epp. in Corp. Ref. T. II. No. 1030.)— Let. No. 1437, 1443.— Table- 
talk, as before, p. 444, (according to Keil, vol. 3, p. 35.) — Let. No. 
1458.— 1451, 25, 85, 36, 61, 88, 89.— 1479, 1502.— Works, vol. 21, 
p. 1. — Let. No. 1511. — Works, ib. p. 2. — Treatise, Defence, &c, be- 
sides missive to the exiled citizens of Leipzig, ib. — Seckend. lib. III. 
p. 57. — Treatise, Short answer to the next book of Duke George, 
Works, vol. 21, p. 20. — Treatise, Missive concerning sneakers, &c, 
vol. 20, p. 357, sq.— Let. No. 1481, 59, 95, 96, 97.— 1430, 1512. 

Notes. — 1.) Most probably at his hereditary castle, Reinharz, 
situated near Schmiedeberg. 

2.) Luther's rigorous judgment with regard to Zwingle's death, 
which he was unwilling to consider the death of a martyr, see among 
others in the letter to Duke Albrecht of Prussia, Let. No. 1445. 



458 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



3. ) What vehement contention this matter excited between the Elec- 
tor and the Duke, and how they finally became reconciled, and caused 
Luther as well as Cochleus to be forbidden to mingle up the names 
of the princes in their dispute, can be found in Seckend. lib. 111. p. 
58 and 59. 

4. ) How well founded Luther's apprehension was, was demonstrated 
by the domination which the Anabaptists gained at Minister in the 
year 1534. Rothmann also, as is known, suffered himself to be se- 
duced. 

5. ) Comp. Let. No. 1531, 40, 41, 42, from which it is evident what 
Luther and his colleagues, at Wittenberg, further advised in this mat- 
ter, and how they exhorted to peace. 



CHAPTER III. 

HOW LUTHER SINGS, TEACHES TO PRAY, AND PREACHES. 1533-34. 

In tbe year 1533, Luther published the " Spiritual Songs, new- 
ly revised and improved" at Wittenberg. "Now some bave 
exercised tbeir skill," says he in the preface, " and increased 
the number of hymns, so that they have far excelled me, and 
may well be called my masters in this respect. But others, 
again, have added little of what is good ; and because I per- 
ceive that there is no end to daily additions, made without all 
discrimination, as each one deems best, and that the first of 
our hymns are moreover continually printed more incorrectly : 
I am apprehensive that this little book will, in the end, fare 
as good books have always fared ; that it will, namely, be 
so overloaded with and disfigured by the additions of unskil- 
ful hands, that all that is good will be lost in consequence, and 
nothing but what is useless be retained. Therefore," continues 
he, " I have revised this little book anew, and arranged the 
hymns composed among us in their order, at the same time 
adding the names of the authors, which, for the sake of ap- 
pearance, I omitted to do before, but am now constrained to 
do, that the unworthy hymns of others may not be sold under 
our names, and those which we esteem the best and most use- 
ful, fall into neglect. I pray and exhort all who love the pure 
Word, that they would not in future, without our knowledge 
and consent, make any alterations in, or additions to, this little 
book of ours," &c. Thus, the collection contains firstly, twen- 
ty-nine hymns by Luther, then follow (two) "other hymns 
composed among us ;" then " several spiritual songs composed 
by the ancients," of which he says : " These old hymns we 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 459 

have also embraced in our collection, as a testimony of seve- 
ral pious Christians who lived before us, under the great dark- 
ness of the former doctrine, that it may at least be seen how 
there always were men who possessed a true knowledge of 
Christ, and who, through the grace of God, were marvellous- 
ly preserved in that same knowledge." These are succeeded 
by fifteen new hymns, concerning which he observes : " These 
are also spiritual songs, composed by others of the present 
time ; but because the number of them is very great, and the 
majority of them not particularly deserving of estimation, I 
did not feel inclined to include them all in this little hymn- 
book, but have selected the best from among them, and ap- 
pended them here." The whole concludes with seventeen 
biblical psalms. 

Luther also composed very beautiful and appropriate melo- 
dies to his hymns, which are admirably adapted to the subject 
and the words of the text. He also took great delight in cho- 
ral singing and chants. " I have passed many an agreeable 
hour with him in singing," said John Walther, the electoral 
music director, " and have often observed how the dear man 
became so delighted and joyful in the spirit, in consequence of 
the singing, that he could hardly leave off from it, and he 
would speak so nobly of the art of music. For when he, forty 
years ago, was engaged with introducing the German mass at 
Wittenberg, he, in a letter to the Elector of Saxony and to Duke 
John, of noble memory, desired Conrad Rupff, the aged music 
director of his electoral grace, and me, to come to Wittenberg, 
on which occasion he conversed with us concerning choral 
notes and the nature of octaves, and finally, of his own accord, 
appropriated the choral notes of the octave tone to the Epis- 
tle, and of the sixth tone to the Gospel, and spoke thus : 
" Christ is a friendly Lord, and his discourses are lovely, there- 
fore we will take the sixth tone for the Gospel ; and because 
St. Paul is a stern apostle, we w T ill appropriate the octave tone 
to the epistle. He also composed the notes for the epistles, 
the gospels, and the words of the institution of the true body 
and blood of Christ, sung them to me, and desired my opinion 
with regard to them. He, on this occasion, detained me at 
Wittenberg for the space of three weeks, for the purpose of 
properly writing the choral notes for several gospels and epis- 
tles, till the first German mass was sung in the parochial 
church. Here I had to be present and listen, and to take a 



460 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



copy of this first German mass with me to Torgau, and at the 
desire of the doctor himself, to deliver it to his aforesaid elect- 
oral grace." Walther having further related how Luther had 
wished that the charity scholars might sing Latin hymns, an- 
tiphonies and responses, before the houses, according to the 
occasion, and had not been pleased with their singing only 
German hymns, he observes, that the Holy Ghost himself had 
manifestly influenced both the authors who had composed the 
Latin, and also Luther, who now for the most part had com- 
posed the German sacred hymns, and set them to music. That, 
for instance, it was perceivable from the German Sanctus, 
(Jesaia dem Propheten das geschah, &c.,) how masterly and 
admirably he had adapted all the notes to the text, according 
to the proper accent and concent, so that he, Walther himself, 
had been tempted to ask Luther, whence or where he had ob- 
tained instruction concerning it? Upon this Luther had 
laughed, and said : " The poet Virgil has taught me this, for 
he, in all his poetry, admirably understands how to adapt the 
words tb the subject which he describes. So in music also, 
all its notes and the melody should be adapted to the text." 

Luther often praised the art of music to his friends. On 
one occasion, when the Passion was sung, he listened atten- 
tively and said : " Music is a delightful and lovely gift of God : 
it has often excited and moved me so that it quickened me to 
preach." Again : " Music is one of the most delightful and 
noble gifts of God : Satan is a great enemy to it ; it is a good 
antidote against temptation and evil thoughts ; the devil does 
not stay long where it is practised." " Music is one of the 
noblest arts ; its notes give life to the text, it chases away the 
spirit of sadness, as is seen in the case of King Saul. Some of 
our nobility and miserly spirits boast of saving three thousand 
florins a year for my gracious lord, on the score of music. 
But meanwhile, they instead expend thirty thousand florins 
for useless purposes. Kings, princes, and lords must give en- 
couragement to music ; for it behooves great potentates and 
rulers to encourage good liberal arts and laws ; individual 
common and private men, though they take pleasure and de- 
light in it, cannot effectually maintain it." " Music is the best 
cordial to a person in sadness ; it soothes, quickens, and re- 
freshes the heart. As one of Virgil's personages says : Tu 
calamos injlare leves, ego dicere versus. 4 Do thou play the notes, 
I will sing the words.' " 11 Music is a semi-disciplinarian and 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



461 



schoolmaster, it makes men more gentle and tender-hearted, 
more modest and discreet." " Your wretched fiddlers and 
gut-scrapers serve the purpose of showing us what a fine no- 
ble art music is ; for white is better perceived when it is con- 
trasted with black." In the year 1538, on the 17th December, 
when Dr. Martin Luther had invited the singers to dine with 
him, and these sung delightful and lovely psalms and other 
pieces, he said with astonishment : " Because our Lord God 
has so richly granted us such noble gifts in this life, which, 
nevertheless, is a mere sink of corruption, what will he not 
grant us in the life to come, where everything will be most 
perfect and delightful ? for here is only materia prima, the 
beginning." " I have always loved music ; he that is skilled 
in this art is possessed of good qualities, and can be employed 
in anything. Music must of necessity be retained in the 
schools. A schoolmaster must be able to sing, otherwise I 
will hear nothing of him. Nor should young men be ordained 
to the ministry, unless they have first well tried and exercised 
themselves in the school. When several admirable and delight- 
ful psalms of SenfFel were sung, Luther marvelled, extolled 
them highly, and said : " Such a psalm I could not compose, 
even if I should, perplex myself to death. Nor could the 
Psalmist preach a psalm as I can. Therefore the gifts of the 
Holy Ghost are various, just as there are various members in 
the body. But no one is satisfied with his gifts, no one is con- 
tent with that which God has given him, all wish to be the 
whole body, not the members." " Music is a delightful, noble 
gift of God, and nearly related to theology. I would not give 
what little skill in music I possess for something great. The 
youth are continually to be exercised in this art, it makes good 
and skilful people of them." " Singing is the best art and 
exercise, it has nothing to do with the world, with lawsuits, 
or quarrels. Singers do not vex themselves with cares, but 
are joyful, and banish and chase away their cares with sing- 
ing." " With those that despise music, as all fanatics are wont 
to do, I am not pleased ; for music is a gift bestowed by God, 
and not by men. So it also banishes Satan, and renders men 
joyful ; it causes men to forget all wrath, unchastity, pride, t 
and other vices. Next to theology, I esteem and honour music. 
And we see how David and all the saints clothed their pious 
thoughts in verses, rhymes, and songs, because, in times of 
peace ; music rules." On one occasion he proposed the ques- 



462 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



tion : " How does it come to pass that we have so many fine 
poems, and so many a fine song on worldly subjects, whilst 
those on spiritual subjects are so dead and cold ?" and replied : 
Ci I conceive the reason is given in the words of St. Paul : ' I 
see another law which wars in my members.' It will not flow 
so well here, there is not the same congeniality as there." 

Luther also, in the preface to the Harmonies of the Suffer- 
ings of Christ, 1 wrote a particular eulogy in honour of music, 
saying, among other things, that it had from the beginning of 
the world been implanted in every creature. That even the 
air, in i self invisible, and not to be grasped by any of the 
senses, least of all, however, musical, but wholly mute, was 
nevertheless a loud motion, which could be heard, and then 
also felt, under which the Holy Ghost represented marvellous 
mysteries. That the musical powers of animals were more 
marvellous, especially those of birds, but that they were no- 
thing compared with the human voice. That philosophers had 
sadly tormented themselves to ascertain all the wonderful re- 
lations of the human voice, but had never succeeded. Con- 
cerning the use of so important an art, he would simply say, 
that, next to God's Word, music must justly be extolled as the 
only thing capable of governing and controlling the passions 
of man. That the Holy Ghost himself honoured it as an in- 
strument of his own peculiar office, testifying in the Holy 
Scriptures, that his gifts descended to the prophets through it, 
as we read concerning the prophet Elijah ; and that Satan is 
banished through it, as is shown in the case of Saul. That 
the fathers and prophets had therefore not without cause en- 
deavoured so intimately to combine music with God's Word. 
That hence originated so many hymns and psalms, in which 
both the language and the voice exercised their influence upon 
the mind of the hearer — speech, which is connected with the 
voice, having been communicated to man alone, that he might 
know how to praise God with words and with music. Having 
then further spoken of the natural variety of the human 
voice and speech, he adds : " But when the natural voice is 
further improved, cultivated and expanded by diligent exer- 
cise, then do we with astonishment perceive, though not com- 
prehend, the boundless and perfect wisdom of God in the 
wonderful creation of music, in which this is something ex- 
traordinary, that one particular "voice sings and always con- 
tinues in its own part, whilst many other voices, meanwhile, 



LABOURS OP THE REFOBMATION. 



463 



in a Wonderful manner, join in with their praise, leap and skip 
over it, adorning it by the most lovely movements, and, as it 
were, engage in a heavenly dance around it, so that those 
even who are only slightly moved by it, imagine for the time 
that there is nothing more exalted. But those that are not 
moved by it, are veritable blockheads and dolts, deserving to 
remain in their stupidity, or to listen to a concert of pigs. 
Finally, he exhorts the young to accustom themselves to ac- 
knowledge the Creator in this exalted creation, and to praise 
him, as also diligently to beware of those perverse spirits, who, 
like corrupt poets, abuse this noble gift, both as to nature and 
art, for the purposes of their insane lusts. That they were 
certainly led by the devil to act in opposition to nature, which 
aimed solely to praise God, its author, through this gift. That 
those bastards who converted the gift of God into robbery, by 
this honoured the enemy of God, and the adversary of nature, 
and of this most lovely art. 

To the Bavarian court musician, Ludwig Senffel, whom Lu- 
ther, whilst at Koburg, prayed for a composition adapted to 
the words of the fourth Psalm : In pace in id ipsum dormiam 
et requiescam (I will both lay myself down and rest in peace) ; 
he wrote concerning music: "Although my name is hated, 
and I have to fear that you, my dearest Ludwig, cannot quite 
safely accept and read the letter which I transmit to you, yet 
has my love for music, with which my God has adorned and 
gifted you, overcome my apprehension in this respect ; and 
this love also causes me to hope, that my letter will not in- 
volve you in any danger, for who would, even in Turkey, cen- 
sure a man for loving art, and extolling the artist ? I at least 
praise and respect your dukes of Bavaria above the rest, al- 
though they are least of all favourably disposed towards me, 
because they so greatly encourage and honour music. For 
there is no doubt, that in those men who take delight in music, 
there exists the germ for much good, but those that do not 
take delight in it, I consider similar to stocks and stones. For 
we know that music also is hateful and intolerable to devils. 
I am fully of the opinion, and am not ashamed to maintain 
that, next to theology, music takes the highest rank in the 
sciences, because it alone, after theology, does that which 
otherwise theology alone does, — it soothes the mind, and ren- 
ders it joyful and courageous, which is an undoubted evidence 
that the devil, the author of sad cares and unquiet emotions, 



464 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION 



flees at the voice of music almost as much as at the votce of 
theology, For this reason the prophets cultivated no art as 
much as that of music, and clothed their theology not in 
geometry, or arithmetic, or astronomy, but in music ; for this 
reason they so intimately combined theology with music, and 
taught the truth in psalms and hymns. But why do I now ex- 
tol music, and venture to portray, or much rather to carica- 
ture so great a matter upon so narrow a compass ? But my 
heart is full and flows over of this art, which so often has 
quickened me, and delivered me from great distresses." 

Therefore he also wrote to one labouring under a spirit of 
sadness : " When you are sad, and your sadness increases, say : 
Come ! I must play a tune to our Lord Christ upon the organ, 
(let it be Te Deum laudamus, or Benedictus, or something else) ; 
for the Scriptures teach me, that He delights to hear joyful 
singing and music on stringed instruments. And thus fall 
into the keys, and sing on till your thoughts vanish, as David 
and Eliseus did. If the devil returns and infuses cares and 
sad thoughts into your heart, then defend yourself resolutely, 
and say : Begone, devil, I must sing now and make music to 
my Lord Christ. Thus you must earnestly learn to resist him. 
and not leave him room again to introduce his thoughts into 
your heart ; for if you give ear to one thought, he'll speedily 
force in ten others, till he overcomes you. Therefore the best 
thing is instantly to banish the first one ; and, as the good 
man did, who, when his wife began to gnaw and to bite, took 
his fife from beneath his belt and played so resolutely, that 
she finally became weary, and left him undisturbed ; so do you 
also fall into the keys, or, taking good companions, sing in- 
stead, till you learn to despise him." 

So, also, when Luther was once taking a pleasure ride in 
a small vehicle through a forest and through the fields to re- 
create himself, he sung, and was joyful in honour of God, and 
said : " Our singing vexes the devil, and grieves him exceed- 
ingly ; our impatience, complaints and lamentations, on the 
contrary, please him and afford him secret joy." 

Luther often extolled the efficacy of prayer, and exhorted 
thereto. " Verily," said he, " no one believes how efficacious 
and quickening prayer is, and how much it can accomplish, 
but he whom experience has taught it, and who has tried it. 
But it is a blessed thing when a person is in great distress and 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



465 



affliction, if he can then take refuge in prayer. .This I know, 
that as often as I prayed in all true earnestness, I have been 
abundantly heard ; God indeed at times delayed, but he never- 
theless came at last." " Oh ! how blessed is the upright prayer 
of pious Christians, how very efficacious is it with God, that 
wretched man should thus address the lofty Majesty of Hea- 
ven, and not be terror-struck, but know that God smiles upon 
him for the sake of Jesus Christ, his beloved Son, our Lord 
and Redeemer ! Here the heart or conscience must not flee 
in despair, or be in doubt because of its unworthiness, and 
thus suffer itself to be deterred." 

Melanchthon relates of Luther : " I myself often found 
him amidst fervent tears praying for the whole church, for he 
appropriated a particular time every day to the rehearsal of 
several psalms, with which he mingled his prayer to God 
amidst sighs and tears. And in his daily conversation, he 
often expressed his displeasure at those who, from indolence, 
or because of their business, pretend that it is sufficient sim- 
ply to call upon God in a few brief sighs. For, said he, forms 
and directions . for prayer have been given us for this very 
purpose, that when we read or repeat them, our hearts might 
be excited and kindled by them, and that we might also with 
our mouths confess that God upon whom we call." He, there- 
fore, (in the year 1534,) gave a good friend, the barber, mas- 
ter Peter, the following direction " how to pray." 

" Dear master Peter, — I give you the best directions I can, 
and which I myself observe with regard to prayer. May our 
Lord God enable you and all others to adopt a better course. 
Amen. Firstly, when I perceive that foreign employments or 
thoughts have rendered me cold and indisposed to prayer (for 
the flesh and the devil never fail to hinder prayer), I take my 
psalter, run into my closet, or, if day and time are suited, into 
the church to the multitude, and begin, wholly after the man- 
ner of children, verbally to repeat to myself the ten command- 
ments, the creed, and, according as I have time, several decla- 
rations of Christ, Paul, or from the Psalms. Therefore it is a 
good plan to let prayer be the first thing in the morning, and 
the last thing at night, diligently guarding against these false 
deceptive thoughts, which say : Delay a little, in an hour or so 
I will pray — I must first attend to this or that ; for amidst 
such thoughts we forget prayer, and engage in business, which 
then occupies and absorbs our attention, that prayer is neg- 

30 



466 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION 1 . 



lected for that day. And although some works may occur 
which are as good as prayer, or better than it, especially if 
necessity requires them, according to a declaration which 
passes under St. Jerome's name : ' Ail works of believers are 
prayer, and the proverb — He that labours faithfully prays two- 
fold, which is to be understood as meaning, that a believer 
fears and honours God, and remembers his commandments in 
his labour, in order that he may not wrong any one, that he 
may not steal, or overreach, or embezzle, and such thoughts 
and faith undoubtedly render his work a prayer and thank- 
offering in addition. On the other hand, it is also true that an 
unbeliever's labours are nothing but cursing, and he that la- 
bours unfaithfully curses doubly, for at his labour, he, in his 
heart, despises God, designing to transgress his command- 
ments, to wrong his neighbour, to steal, and to embezzle. 
What are such thoughts else but curses against God and man, 
which also cause his works and labours to be a twofold 
curse, with which he curses himself? And they in the end 
also remain beggars and bunglers. In reference to this con- 
stant prayer, Christ truly says, Luke xi., that we are to pray 
without ceasing ; for we are without ceasing to beware of 
injustice and wickedness, which cannot be done where God 
is not feared, and his commandments remembered, as the 
Psalmist sa} T s in the first Psalm : Blessed is he who meditateth 
in the law of the Lord day and night, &c. Yet are we to be 
on our guard, that we be not drawn from the right prayer, 
and do not ourselves, at last, invent works as necessary 
which are not necessary, and thus become negligent, indolent, 
cold, and indisposed to prayer. For Satan is not indolent or 
negligent about us, and our flesh also is too much alive and 
prone to sin, and opposed to the spirit of prayer. 

" When now, through such verbal repetition, the heart has 
been kindled and has come to itself, then kneel down, or stand 
with folded hands and eyes lifted to heaven, and speak or 
think as briefly as you can : Oh ! God, my heavenly Father, 
I am a wretched and unworthy sinner, not deserving that I 
should raise my hands or e} r es up to Thee, or to pray to Thee. 
But because thou hast commanded us all to pray, and in ad- 
dition also promised to hear us, and hast, besides thyself, 
through thy dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, taught us both 
words and forms, I come to render obedience to thy command, 
and, relying upon thy gracious promise, with all thy holy 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



467 



Christians upon earth, pray in the name of my Lord Jesus 
Christ, as he has taught me : Our Father" &c. 

He then gives it as his advice, that one point, or as many 
as may be desired, should be repeated ; and, after he has 
shown how the several petitions can be converted into sepa- 
rate prayers, he continues : " Finally, be certain that you al- 
ways let the Amen be distinct, and do not doubt but that God 
in all mercy hears you, and says yes to your prayer ; and re- 
member by all means that you do not kneel or stand there 
alone, but that all Christendom or all pious Christians are with 
you and you with them in unanimous prayer, which God can- 
not despise ; and do not close your prayer without saying or 
thinking : this I know to be certain and true, that is, Amen." 

" Observe also, that I do not wish all these words to be 
spoken in prayer, for that would end in nothing but idle and 
vain babbling, a mere reading from the book according to the 
letter, but 1 wish to have the heart aroused and instructed in 
this way, as to what thoughts are to be suggested to it through 
the Lord's prayer, but such thoughts, the heart can undoubted- 
ly also utter in other, whether in more or less words ; for I do 
not bind myself to such words and syllables, but to-day speak 
the words so, to-morrow thus, according as I feel and am dis- 
posed." 

Then he warns against distraction of thought during prayer, 
and says : " Just as a good and careful barber must scrupu- 
lously direct his thoughts, mind and eyes to his razor, and to 
the beard, and remember where he is now drawing and shav- 
ing ; otherwise, if he should at the same time tattle a great 
deal, or think of something else, or give a jerk, he might cut 
off a man's mouth, nose, or his throat. Thus everything, if it is 
to be accomplished well, must engage the whole man with all 
his senses and members, as we say : ' He that thinks of every 
thing, thinks of nothing rightly ;' how much more does prayer 
demand the heart wholly, entirely and alone, if it is to be a 
good prayer !" — " But, if I have time, before the Lord's prayer. I 
proceed in the same manner with the ten commandments, and 
(as far as possible) in order to unburthen myself wholly, draw 
one point after the other into the prayer, and make a fourfold 
wreath of each commandment. Thus, I take up every com- 
mandment ; 1, as an instruction, as it also is in itself, and think 
of what our Lord God so earnestly requires of me in it ; 2, I 
convert it into thanksgiving ; 3, into confession ; 4, into prayer, 



468 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



namely, thus, or with similar thoughts and words." Then he 
shows how the ten commandments can be employed in a 
fourfold manner, as a book of instruction, a book of thanks, a 
book of confession, and a book of prayer ; he warns against 
taking up everything, or too much, lest the spirit might be- 
come weary, as a good prayer was not to be long : and conti- 
nues : " He, now, that has sufficient time and is so disposed, 
may proceed in the same way with the creed, and also make 
a fourfold wreath of it," for which he likewise gives direction. 



In the year 1534, on Whitsuntide Monday, Luther, in pre- 
sence of several citizens, who had been exiled from Leipzig, 
because they had refused to receive the sacrament under one 
kind, delivered the following sermon, in his house, concerning 
the Gospel John iii. 3 

,; This gospel is one of the most noble sermons that can be 
found in the whole of the New Testament, so that it. should 
justly, if it were possible.be written in the heart in letters of 
gold, and every Christian should be able at least to repeat this 
consoling text from memory, and should do this once every 
day, that the words might become familiar, and be the better 
understood. For they are words which can make a sad heart 
joyful, and restore the dead to life, if we could only firmly be- 
lieve them. But although it is impossible fully to express 
such noble sermon in words, we will nevertheless speak it ver- 
bally; and earnestly pray God to glorify these words in our 
hearts, through His holy Spirit, and to make them so bright 
and glowing, that we may experience consolation and joy from 
them. Amen. The sum of this noble, consolatory and blessed 
sermon is this : That God loved the world, and so greatly, that He 
gave His only Son, in order that we might not die eternally, 
but have eternal life. As if Christ our dear Lord would say: 
1 Behold, O man, I make known unto thee an unheard-of and 
marvellous account, concerning a giver, a recipient, a gift, and 
the fruit and use of such gift, all so exalted, that it is not only 
unutterable, but also impossible to attain to it in thought.' 

"For if, in the first place, you should contemplate theGiver.He 
is the greatest giver that can be. For He that gives here is 
not an emperor, king, or prince, who is greatly esteemed in the 
world, but God himself, who is incomprehensible and Almighty, 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



469 



who has created all things through His Word, possesses all 
things, and sustains all things. And what need is there of 
many words I It cannot be fully expressed. God is above all 
things, and compared to Him, all creatures, heaven and earth, 
and all things in them, are as grains of sand, and as the pro- 
phet Isaiah saith in the 40th chapter : as a drop of a bucket, 
and as small dust of the balance. He is the Giver, and he may 
well be called a great Giver, so that we should justly, when 
we hear that God gives, look upon all emperors and kings with 
their gifts and persons as utterly nothing, and our hearts should 
on account of such Giver greatly exult, and consider every 
thing that can be imagined, as nothing in comparison. For 
what can we name or imagine greater or more noble than God 
the Almighty himself is ? 

•* In the second place, if you regard the way in which God gives, 
you find that God, the greatest and highest Giver, gives in a 
way which surpasses all bounds. For what He gives, He gives 
not as a merited reward, from obligation, but as the words de- 
clare, from love. He is such a Giver, therefore, who gives from 
his heart, from boundless and divine love, as he says, God hath 
loved the world. Now among all the virtues there is not one 
greater, either with God or with men, than love, as we daily 
behold. For that which one loves, he willingly hazards body 
and life, and all that he possesses. Patience, chastity, temper- 
ance, &c, are indeed also noble virtues, but by no means equal 
to love, which is above all, and includes and brings with itself 
all the other virtues. So also a man, that is pious and just, 
wrongs and injures no one, much less takes what belongs to 
another, yea, gives to others what belongs to himself, giving 
reward and compensation for merit, or from beneficence. But 
to him whom thou lovest, thou yieldest thyself up without re- 
serve, and he findeth thee willing, disposed and prepared to 
counsel and to aid him wherever it is necessary. So Christ al- 
so says here, that our Lord God gives us not from patience or 
justice, or because of merit, but from the highest virtue, which 
is love. Truly, here our hearts should expand, and all sadness 
should vanish, when we contemplate such boundless love of 
God, and believe with our hearts that God is the highest and 
greatest Giver, and gives so that his gift flows from the highest 
virtue. Such gift flowing from true love also renders the gift 
more precious and valuable, as we are accustomed to say, this 
I esteem, it comes to me from a dear hand, when we know 



470 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



that the heart accompanies it. If, on the other hand, we doubt 
of the heart, we do not highly esteem the gift. For we do not 
regard the gift as much as the heart, which renders the gift 
important. Therefore, if God had given us only one eye, or 
one foot, or one hand, and we knew to a certainty that he had 
done this from divine paternal love, then should such one eye, 
foot, or hand, be dearer to us than a thousand eyes, feet, or 
hands, under other circumstances. Because of this love, we 
are most highly to esteem and to value all his gifts ; but es- 
pecially what he has instituted for our salvation and the 
strengthening of our faith, as holy baptism, the highly revered 
sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, &c. Such things 
are daily to be to us like heaven. For although they do not 
glitter before the world, yet do we perceive in them God's 
unbounded love which he bears to us. These now are two 
things which are great, — the Giver is great, so the heart also 
is great from which the gift flows. 

" So, in the third place, the gift, or the present, also, is un- 
speakably great. What does the great Giver give out of his 
unbounded heavenly heart ? His only Son. Verily, this is 
not giving a groat, or a florin, a cow, or a horse, an eye, foot, 
or hand — no, not a kingdom, not even the firmament, with its 
suns and stars, not the whole creation, but he gives his only 
begotten Son, who is as exalted as he himself is. Such gift, 
truly, should kindle and light up our hearts, and cause us un- 
ceasingly to dance and leap for joy. For just as the Giver, 
God himself, and the motive, that is, his earnest love, are 
boundless and incomprehensible, so also is the gift, which is 
his only Son. Fot^ as he gives the Son, what does he retain 1 
In giving the Son, he gives himself with all that he has, as 
St. Paul says, Rom. viii. : " He that spared not his own Son, 
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him 
also freely give us all things ?" With the Son everything 
must be given, whether it be devil, sin, death, hell, heaven, 
righteousness, or life. All things must be ours, because the 
Son is given to us as a gift, and is ours, and in him are all 
things." Coloss. ii. 

*• Therefore, if we rightly believe, and receive and accept 
this noble gift through faith, then must every creature, whe- 
ther it be good or bad, life and death, heaven and hell, work 
for our good, as St. Paul says, 1 Cor. iii.: "All things are 
yours, whether it be Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 



471 



or life, or death, or things present, or things to come ; all are 
yours ; and ye are Christ's ; and Christ is God's." For if we 
rightly regard and contemplate such gift, we must acknow- 
ledge that it is a gift surpassing everything in heaven and on 
earth. What is gold, silver, the splendour and the pageantry 
of the world, compared with this treasure ? Not as much as 
a grain of mustard seed compared with a mountain of gold. 
But here pernicious unbelief (as Christ himself complains 
afterward) appears, and the gross and shocking darkness, that 
we hear of such noble gift and treasure without after all be- 
lieving; and thus such noble and consoling word rushes past 
our ears, and the heart is left untouched by it. Where there 
is a cheap purchase to be made of a house, or a castle, we 
eagerly endeavour to secure it, as if our very life were de- 
pendent upon temporal property. But here, where the glo- 
rious news is proclaimed, that God, purely out of love, gave 
his Son for the world, we are so sluggish and indolent, that it 
is a sin and a reproach. Who now causes us thus to make 
light of such gift and present — who prevents us from giving 
heed to such words, and from continually remembering them 
— from praising God for them, and permitting them to be our 
greatest joy and comfort ? It is no other than the veritable 
Satan, who has possessed our hearts, and who causes us to be 
thus indifferent and cold, that we permit such noble sermon 
to pass by unheeded, and meanwhile give up our souls to tem- 
poral cares. Therefore I said at the outset, that we ought to 
arise and retire with these words every day, that we might at 
least in some measure impress them upon our hearts, and also 
at times praise God for such unspeakable blessings. These 
are three things, — the Giver, love, and tne gift, Jesus Christ, 
with which all things are given. 

" In the fourth place, we must also note the little word : give. 
The highest giver gives from the highest virtue — a boundless 
love, the highest gift — his only Son. He reckons the gift not 
as a reward for merit, but gives that it may remain a gift, 
which is neither to be borrowed, nor loaned, nor paid for, it 
being a gift for which nothing is given, and with regard to 
which we have nothing further to do than to reach forth the 
hand and willingly and gladly to receive such treasure. He 
wishes not only to point you to the treasure, and to permit 
you to touch it, but the treasure is to be your own, freely 
given. Truly it is sad and lamentable that there are not 



472 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



hands and hearts prepared to receive such gift offered to us, 
and to remain wholly ours for ever. But now consider here how 
those are called of whom we say : that they will not accept 
of anything against their wishes ? if a wealthy and beneficent 
prince should out of mercy present a poor destitute and starv- 
ing beggar with a castle, and ten thousand florins yearly in- 
come, thus constituting him a lord, and say to him, all this I 
give thee freely, and the beggar should turn his back upon 
him, and say : I do not desire it, would not the whole world 
cry out against the beggar, and say : that there never had 
been a man more insane and foolish ; that he ought not to be 
called a man, but a brute ? Thus the world would judge. 
But now there is offered here to the world, not a castle or 
principality, not a kingdom or empire, but the Son of God 
himself, and God commands and says : reach forth thy hand 
and take, thus desiring us to be the recipients. But those that 
will not have the gift, and who turn their back upon God, are 
we ourselves. Therefore do thou calculate now how great 
and shocking a sin unbelief is, for it is not human to resist 
and to refuse to have a gift. Therefore it is manifest from 
this, that the whole world is insane and foolish, and possessed 
of the devil, because it does not rejoice at such gifts, and re- 
fuses to reach forth and to take what is offered. If it were a 
florin or a new coat, men would eagerly reach forth both 
hands and rejoice. But because it is the Son of God himself, 
every one deports himself as if he did not need him. This is 
the fourth point. It is simply to be called a gift ; we are not 
to serve for it, nor to pay for the gift. 

" In the fifth place, the recipient also is mentioned by name 
here, and is called the world. Truly, this is not only an un- 
grateful, but also an abominable, perverse recipient, especially 
if you contrast the world with the gift. For with what has 
the world deserved such love and gift of God, whilst it is the 
devil's bride, the enemy of God, and the greatest blasphemer 
of God. For next to the devil, the world is the greatest ene- 
my of God ; for out of Christ, we are all children of the devil. 
Yet we are assured here, that God so loved the world, that 
he gave his only Son. This point write in thy heart, and be- 
cause thou hast heard what God is, and what the gift is which 
he bestows from love, therefore hear also and learn what the 
world is, namely, a great crowd of men who do not believe 
God, who charge God with falsehood in his Word, yea, who 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



4*73 



blaspheme, profane, and persecute the name and Word of 
God. They are men who are disobedient to father and mo- 
ther, who are murderers, adulterers, traitors, thieves, and 
knaves, and the like, as we then daily see and experience, 
that nothing but unfaithfulness, blasphemy, and detestable 
vices prevail in the world. To this dear bride, this golden 
daughter, that is, to this great enemy and blasphemer of God, 
God gives his Son wholly from love. And this contributes to 
the greatness of the gift, that our Lord God does not suffer 
himself to be influenced by our being such wicked knaves, 
but by one stroke obliterates all the vices and sins by which 
the world dishonours his name and Word, living in all man- 
ner of disobedience towards God. For because the Giver is so 
great, and the gift so noble, he might justly, because of such 
iniquity, withhold his favour, the sins of the world being in- 
numerable. But God refrains, and, overlooking all the sin 
against the first and second table, does not wish to know it, 
yea, precisely because of such sin, distress, and misery in 
which we wretched sinners are involved, and on account of 
which, if it were not for the help of God, we would forever 
perish, he evinces such love and favour to us. Should we not 
now also in return from our hearts love this gracious God, and 
expect of him every blessing, who forgives sin, pardoning all 
the innumerable transgressions of a wicked and ungrateful 
world ? For since the individual sins of one man are innume- 
rable, who can enumerate the sins of the whole world X It 
is, nevertheless, written here, that God is willing to forgive 
and to pardon the world, notwithstanding all. For here there 
necessarily must be forgiveness of sin, because God loves the 
world which blasphemes him. Here we ought to open our 
hearts, and to meditate further upon this love, which leads 
God to give so much to the world, his natural enemy, that he 
gives himself to it. That we, truly, are not to look for any- 
thing else here than mere favour and goodness, let us fare in 
this temporal life as we may, well or badly, so that we are 
nevertheless to cleave to this love, and to expect of God every 
blessing, for Christ's sake. Such thoughts ought to render the 
heart joyous and happy, that God thus offers his beloved Son 
to such wicked knaves. For 1 myself must acknowledge that 
I celebrated mass for the space of fifteen years in the papacy, 
crucifying Christ, and practising all manner of abominations 
and idolatry, during my monastic life. Such idolatrous life 



474 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



God has not punished as it deserved, but has revealed to me 
his dear Son and himself, thus loving me sa greatly as to for- 
get all my wickedness. Thus the world has defiled itself with 
various sins, yet has God permitted his love to shine, and 
through the Gospel, revealed the Son, whom he before gave 
to the world, so that we again hear this noble sermon, and 
learn that God is not angry with the world, but loves it, be- 
cause he has given it his Son. But, O Lord God, how un- 
grateful are we that we do not at all experience joy on this 
account ! Truly, we ought to rejoice, and not only willingly 
serve him, but also willingly suffer everything for his sake ; 
yea, to rejoice aloud if we should be required to die for his 
sake, who has given us such a treasure. Should I not wil- 
lingly suffer myself to be burnt in the fire, if 1 believe this ? 
But our accursed unbelief, which prevents us from being thus 
joyful, and, in the devil's name, looks about in the world for 
other joy, which is all vanity and loss. Here we have five 
points now, which are all great, — the Giver, the motiv T e, the 
gift, the giving, and the recipient, or the person to whom the 
gift is offered. 

" Now follows the sixth point, causa Jinalis, the design of God 
with this gift. The object of his giving it is not that we 
should eat or drink of it, clothe or nourish ourselves with it, 
much less that it should prove injurious or destructive to us, 
(as he also gives his Word, baptism, and the sacrament, not 
for our injury, but for our salvation and benefit,) but it is given 
for the purpose that those who believe in him might not perish, 
but have eternal life. The object, you perceive here, is not 
that we should obtain great wealth, possessions, honour, 
power, or the whole world, and be lords over it for a short 
time here, (for even if we possessed all these things, we would 
still none the less be under Satan's power,) but that we are 
to be free from sin, death and hell, and be eternally saved. 
This it is what this gift, that is, the Son of God, given us from 
pure love, is to effect and to accomplish, so that the head of 
Satan may be crushed, hell extinguished, and we be delivered 
from eternal distress. This exalted gift will cause hell to be 
blocked up, and afford us a bold joyous heart instead of one 
that is weak ; and not only this, but it will also enable us to 
have life, and that eternal life. Verily, this is an unspeaka- 
bly rich and noble gift. Let us, therefore, ascribe praise and 
honour to the great and merciful Giver for ever. Amen. He 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



475 



that can rejoice now, truly has cause enough for it here, since 
we here hear from the mouth of Christ, the Lord himself, that 
He has been given us for the purpose of locking up hell, and 
unlocking heaven for us ; that we might abidingly have eter- 
nal life, and never see death, but experience the purest joy, 
because of the firm assurance that we have a gracious God 
in heaven, who loves us, and from pure love gives his Son, 
that we might not be lost, but have eternal life. These are 
the words which we cannot sufficiently learn or comprehend 
in this life ; therefore a Christian is daily to pray that God 
would, through his Holy Spirit, impress these words upon his 
heart, and kindle them up in it; thus we might become true 
theologians, who would be able rightly to speak of Christ, to 
judge of all other doctrine, and willingly to suffer on account 
of such faith what God might dispense. But as this is not 
the case, and we simply hear such sermon with the ear, with- 
out receiving it into the heart, that thus it might remain fixed, 
and bring forth fruit, we continue to be to-day what we were 
yesterday, so that it is truly sad and shameful that with see- 
ing eyes we are so stone blind, and with hearing ears deaf. 
And the damned will undoubtedly at the last day bitterly la- 
ment that they have permitted such consoling words to be 
proclaimed thus in vain, and to the wind, without their re- 
ceiving them. 

" In the seventh place, which is the way in which such gift is 
to be received ? Which is the vase into which this precious 
and noble treasure is to be placed ? for this is a very impor- 
tant consideration. Christ indicates this by saying, that those 
who believe in him might not perish, but have everlasting life. 
This is a clear and distinct testimony, that faith alone, that is, 
confidence in the goodness and mercy of God in Christ, is the 
true vase which we are to hold forth, and into which we are 
to receive such gift. For just as God gives through love, so 
we receive through faith. Here no work or merit will avail, 
no running into a cloister, or doing this or that. Our works 
do nothing at all towards our receiving such great treasure. 
This alone avails, that we through faith reach forth our hand, 
hold still, and receive. Thus God gives this treasure through 
love, and we take and receive it through faith, that is, if we 
believe What we hear, that God, namely, is gracious and mer- 
ciful, and manifests such mercy and love to us, by permitting 
his only-begotten Son to assume human nature, and casting 



476 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION'. 



upon him all our sins, as John the Baptist says in accordance 
with the prophet Isaiah : This is the Lurnb of God that taketh 
away the sins of the world. He that believes this is assuredly 
saved ; for the gift is so great that it swallows up death, sin, 
and all misfortune, just as a great furnace does a drop of 
water : thus are the sins of the whole world to be estimated 
in opposition to this treasure. As soon as they come in con- 
tact with Christ, and this treasure is received through faith, 
they are swallowed up and devoured as a straw is consumed 
by a great fire, or a grain of sand is swallowed up by the 
ocean. This is the meaning of the text : God so loved the 
world. &c. They are words of gold and life. God grant that 
we may firmly embrace them with our hearts ; for he that 
lays hold on them, will not be terrified either by the devil, 
sin, or death, but will rejoice and confidently say : I am not 
dismayed, for I have the Son of God, whom God in love has 
given me : and this is true, for here is the Word of God, the 
holy Gospel, which testifies of it. But thy Word, O Lord, 
and thy Son, Jesus, will not deceive me, — in him I trust and 
confide. But if I am not strong enough in the faith, do thou 
grant me grace to believe more firmly, for nothing else can I 
do towards such lofty gift and love. Thus every one is to 
learn daily more and more to console himself with such gift, 
for faith is necessary, as thou nearest of Christ himself. But 
the more firm faith is, the more joy, delight, and assurance 
will be experienced in the heart, so that we afterwards wil- 
lingly do and endure everything, of which we know that God 
demands and wills it. All, however, because God is gracious 
and wholly disposed to exercise love towards us. Yes, say 
you. if I were as pious and holy as Peter, Paul, the holy Vir- 
gin Mary. &c, I would willingly believe and also console my- 
self with this gift : they are holy, and for them, no doubt, this 
gift is meant. But how shall I, wretched sinner, be assured 
that this gift is designed for me, who have so variously sinned 
and offended against God. Such thoughts do not fail to arise, 
when the heart, under such a sermon, views itself in its true 
light, and remembers its misdeeds. Here we are to beware 
of departing from the Word of God, or of pursuing such a 
train of thought too far, but we are instantly again to return 
to the Word, and to judge according to it : for such •thoughts 
are nothing but sheer unbelief, which attempts to draw us 
from this gift and consoling sermon. Now we can resist un- 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION". 



477 



belief with nothing else but with the Word of God, which our 
dear Lord Christ himself preaches, so that we have no cause 
to doubt such preaching and Word, for he says, that his Father 
in heaven, the eternal God, so loved the world, that he gave 
his only begotten Son. Now, verily, thou, with all men, must 
acknowledge that the term world does not mean Mary, Peter, 
Paul, &c, but the whole human race together, one and all. 
Dost thou now believe that thou art a human being ? or if thou 
art not able to believe and to know this, then put thy hand 
into thy bosom, or to thy face, and satisfy thyself that thou art 
a human being, as well as other men. Why dost thou wish 
to exclude thyself from this little word (world) ? Since Christ 
clearly and distinctly says, that God gave his Son, not alone 
for the Virgin Mary, for St. Peter and St. Paul, but for the 
world, so that all that are called children of men are to un- 
derstand themselves as being meant. Now if 1 were not 
meant, it would follow that these words of Christ are not 
true, where he says that he is given to the world. Therefore 
thou art to draw the very opposite conclusion from these words, 
and art not to doubt but that the gift is just as well designed, 
and intended for thee as for St. Peter emd St. Paul, because 
thou art a human being just as well as they, and a part of the 
world. For God did not give his Son for the devil, nor for 
dogs and geese, but for us men. Therefore we are not to 
charge God with falsehood in his Word, and say, who knows 
whether I also am one of those for whom this Son is given, 
and to whom eternal life is promised through him ; for this is 
charging our Lord God with falsehood. Therefore if such 
thoughts occur to thee, make the sign of the cross, as if the 
devil himself were there, and do not suffer such thoughts to- 
deceive thee, but say : What does it concern me that I am not 
Peter or Paul ? If God had wished to give this treasure only to 
them, or others like them, who were deserving of it, he would 
have given it to the angels, who are pure and undefiled spirits, 
or to the sun and the moon, which abide in the course ap- 
pointed them of God ; but here it is said, that he gave him to 
the world, — for her this treasure is designed, as we have shown 
above. Therefore, though I am neither Peter nor Paul, I will 
nevertheless not be excluded from this treasure, yea, will have 
just as much of it as David, or any of the apostles. And, in- 
deed, who was David ? Did he not also sin grossly and griev- 
ously? Who were the apostles ? Were they not all sinners 



478 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 



and unworthy men ? . Therefore no one is to follow this course 
of reasoning : I am a sinner, am not holy, nor as pious as St. 
Peter, therefore I cannot consider this gift as being meant for 
me, neither can I console myself with it. By no means, but 
speak thus : Let me be what I may, I, nevertheless, dare not 
charge my God with falsehood ; for, truly, I belong to the 
world. Therefore if I did not believe that this gift was meant 
for me, I would, in addition to all my other sins, be guilty also 
of charging God with falsehood. Yes, say you, if God would 
promise it to me individually, I would believe it, and then 
could also be assured that it was meant for me. No, my 
friend ; he says in general, that this Son and eternal life are 
promised and given to the whole world, that no one might be 
excluded. For, because he includes all men, neither I, nor 
thou, nor any one, can doubt of being meant. But he that 
excludes himself will have to answer for it ; I shall not judge 
thern, says he, but their own mouth shall judge them, because 
this gift was promised and given to the whole world. They, 
nevertheless, in their own unbelief of God's Word, refuse to 
receive it, although, rightly considered, our Lord Christ in- 
stituted the sacraments of baptism and of His body and blood, 
with the very purpose that each one might individually ap- 
propriate to himself this gift, and deem it his own, and use it 
as his own. 

" This we wished in the simplest way to say concerning these 
words. They convey most noble instruction, which can never 
be apprehended too well, for it is the main doctrine upon 
which we are to die and to be saved, in which Christ is repre- 
sented to us in the purest and loveliest way, as being our 
own, given to us by the Father from pure love, which love he, 
as a gracious God, bears towards a wicked, ungrateful world. 
Let every one learn, therefore, what a treasure and comfort 
we Christians have, what the world and God are, and how we 
attain to such blessing only through faith ; for the instruction 
concerning good works which are to flow from such faith 
through the Holy Ghost, belongs elsewhere. Here we treat 
only of that which we receive from God, and of the manner 
in which we are to receive it. Let us pray God to enable us 
thus to believe it, and to suffer everything for the sake of it, 
even death, and so obtain eternal life. May a gracious God 
enable us all to attain unto this, through our Lord Jesus Christ ! 
Amen." 

I 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



479 



Authorities. — Preface to the hymn-book of 1533, in Wackerna- 
gel, das deutsche Kirchenlied, p. 792. Description of it, p. 741. Paul 
Eber, in the preface to Nich. Hermann's Sonntagsevangel. Wittenb. 
1560. David Chytraeus, in the preface to the Canticis sacris in usum 
juventutis, etc. Hamb. 1588. Walther's account in Praetorii Syn- 
tagma Musicum, vol. I., p. 447, sq. (These citations, according to 
Rambach, Luther's Verdienst, &c, p. 211, sq.) Tischreden, ed. of 
Stangwald, p. 476, sq. Works, vol. 22, app. 141, sq. Let. No. 1317, 
1603. Tischr. Works, Hall, -ed., -vol. 22, p. 1150. Stangw. p. 316. 
Treatise : How to Pray, &c. Works, vol. 22, p. 377, Sermon on 
Whitsuntide Monday, 1534, vol. 15, p. 310. 

Notes. — 1.) Originally written in Latin, — here according to the 
translation in the works. 

2. ) Senffel complied with this request of Luther's. Comp. Mathes. 
Pred. 8. 

3. ) It seemed advisable also to insert a complete sermon of Luther's 
by way of specimen. The choice, we trust, will justify itself. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE COMPLETED. 1534. 

Luther having in December, 1523, completed the second part 
of the Old Testament, (which embraced the historical books,) 1 
immediately proceeded to the third and most difficult part ; 
but these difficulties delayed the publication of this third part. 2 
" In the translation of Job," he complained to Spalatin, under 
date of 23d February, 1524, "we meet with so many difficul- 
ties in consequence of the exceeding loftiness of the style, that 
it seems as if Job would be even much less pleased with our 
translation than with the comfort of his friends, or at least 
seems resolved for ever to remain sitting in the ashes; yea, 
perhaps the author of this book did not wish that it should 
ever be translated." Also with regard to the prophets, to the 
translation of which he applied himself in 1527, he complain- 
ed : " that it was only with great labour and travail that he 
rendered them into German ;" and under date of the 14th June, 
1528, wrote to Link concerning it. " Alas ! what a difficult 
and great task it is to compel these Hebrew writers to speak 
German — how reluctant they are to forsake their Hebrew 
ways and suit themselves to our rude German, just as if you 
would compel the nightingale to cease from her melodious 
strains, and to imitate the monotonous, and to her odious, cry 



480 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION- 



of the cuckoo." Accordingly lie, whilst at Coburg, where he 
with great assiduity applied himself to the translation of the 
prophets, (see p. 386,) laid aside Ezekiel, not only because of 
the affection in his head, but also because he was weary of 
the great difficulties, and, meanwhile, took up the lesser pro- 
phets, of which at that time (August the loth) there only re- 
mained Haggai and Malaehi. 

In the missive concerning translating, written at Coburg, 
(p. 396.) he replies to the papists, who had found fault with 
his translation of Rom. iii. 28: "In the first place, if I, Dr. 
Luther, could have persuaded myself that the papists, all 
united, would have been able rightly and properly to render a 
single chapter of the Scriptures into German, I would cer- 
tainly have been so humble as to request their aid and assist- 
ance in the translation of the New Testament. But because 
I knew, and still daily perceive, that not one of them rightly 
knows how to translate or to speak German, I have put 
neither myself nor them to such inconvenience. But this is 
very perceptible, that they are learning from my translation 
and German how to speak and to write German, thus steal- 
ing my language, of which they before knew scarcely any- 
thing ; they are very remiss, however, in returning thanks to 
me for it. and much rather employ it against me. Neverthe- 
less I grant it to them, for after all, it pleases me that I have 
taught even my ungrateful disciples and enemies how to 
speak." 

In the second place he writes to his friend : " You may say 
that I have translated the New Testament to the best of my 
ability, and most conscientiously, and have compelled no one 
to read it. but left it optional with every one to do so or not, 
having wished to serve only those who cannot help them- 
selves better. No one is forbidden to produce a better trans- 
• lation. Those that do not choose to read it can let it alone. 
I entreat no one to do so, and thank no one for doing so. It 
is my Testament and translation, and shall be mine and re- 
main mine. If I should perhaps have failed in anything, (of 
which truly I am not conscious, and verily I would not de- 
signedly and willingly have rendered a single letter falsely,) 
I shall not permit the papists to be judges of it ; for they are 
still too long-eared for this purpose, and their braying is too 
weak to judge my translation. I know full well, though they 
have less conception of it than a miller's brute, what skill, 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



481 



diligence, discrimination and judgment are requisite, in order 
to translate well, for they have never tried it. The proverb 
says : * He that builds near the road has many masters.' This 
I also find to be the case. Those who were never able to 
speak rightly, let alone to translate, have one and all become 
my masters, and I must become their pupil." Thus, he says, 
St. Jerome also fared when he translated the Bible ; where- 
fore a man must be possessed of great patience if he desires 
publicly to do good. That he would rejoice to see the papist 
who could translate an Epistle of Paul, or one of the prophets, 
without employing Luther's German translation. That would 
be a sorry specimen of German and of a translation ! It was 
evident what that dauber at Dresden, whose name he would 
not mention any more (Emser), had accomplished. " He was 
well aware that he could not produce anything better, and 
yet he wished to bring it into disrepute, wherefore he has pro- 
ceeded to take up my New Testament, almost word for word 
as I rendered it, removed my preface, notes, and name, and, 
substituting his name, preface, and notes, sold my New Tes- 
tament under his name." . . " For what he has patched 
and altered in a few places (although it does not at all please 
me), I can nevertheless well endure, and it does not particu- 
larly injure me as far as the text is concerned ; wherefore 
also I never wished to write against it, but have been greatly 
amused at that consummate wisdom which has led them so 
shockingly to traduce, condemn, and prohibit my New Testa- 
ment, because it was published under my name ; whilst they, 
nevertheless, do read it published under another's name. How 
virtuous it is to traduce and abuse another's book, and after- 
wards to steal it, yea, even to publish it under one's own 
name, and thus to seek honour and praise through the tra- 
duced labours of another, I leave to the proper judge to decide. 
I meanwhile am satisfied and rejoice that my labours (as St. 
Paul boasts) are promoted even through my enemies, and that 
Luther's books, without Luther's name, are read under the 
names of his enemies. What better revenge could I desire ? " 

After having observed that he would not say anything in 
reply to the vain babbling of his enemies, but instead thereof 
point out to his friends the reason for his employing the word 
sola in translating Rom. iii. 28,Jie continues: "I diligently 
exercised myself to employ pure and distinct German ; and it 
often happened to us that we were two, three and four weeks 

31 



482 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



searching and inquiring for a single word, and after all some- 
times failed of finding it, In Job, M. Philip, Aurogallus, and 
myself, encountered so many difficulties, that we sometimes 
scarcely finished three lines in four days. Now, my dear friend, 
that it is translated and finished, every one can read and cri- 
ticise it, and you can. now run your eyes over three or four 
pages without once stumbling, but do not perceive what rocks 
and blocks once covered the ground over which you now pass, 
as over a smooth surface, where we were made to perspire 
and to labour most strenuously before we removed such rocks 
and blocks out of the way, that it might be easily passed. It 
is not difficult to plough if the ground is cleared ; but to fell 
the trees, to root up the stumps, and to prepare the ground, to 
this no one is inclined. It is not possible to earn thanks with 
the world. God himself cannot gain any thanks for the sun, 
not even with heaven and earth, no not with the death of his 
Son ; let the world therefore have its way." 

Upon this he adduces several instances, showing what the 
nature of the German language is, and that we must not ex- 
pect that the letters of the Latin language will tell us how to 
write German, but must inquire of the mother in the house, 
the children in the street, and the common people in the mar- 
ket, and, observing how they speak, translate accordingly, that 
they may understand and perceive that we speak German 
with them. He says, for instance, that he would sooner trans- 
late the address in the angelic salutation : Du holdselige Ma- 
ria ! (thou most kind Mary), Du liebe Maria ! (thou dear 
Mary), than : Du voll Gnaden Maria ! (thou full of favour 
Mary). "He that understands German, knows well what a 
cordial and endearing way of speaking it is to say, die liebe 
Maria (our dear Mary), der liebe Gott (our dear God), der liebe 
Kaiser (the dear emperor), der liebe Fiirst (the dear Prince), 
der liebe Mann (the dear man), das liebe Kind (the dear child). 
And I do not know whether the word lieb (dear), can be em- 
ployed in so cordial and endearing a way in the Latin and 
other languages, that it may thus pass into the heart and thrill 
through all the senses, as it does in our language. For I con- 
ceive that St. Luke, who was skilled in the Hebrew and Greek 
languages, wished to interpret and distinctly to render the 
Hebrew word, which the angel employed, by the Greek word 
KexuptTupJvi), And I imagine that the angel Gabriel addressed 
Mary as he did Daniel, whom he calls fti^farvaj"^ vir deside- 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 



483 



riorum, that is, thou dear Daniel, for this is Gabriel's manner of 
speaking, as we see in Daniel. If, now, in accordance with 
the art of our assinine critics, I were to follow the letter in 
translating the angel's language, I would have to say : Daniel, 
thou man of desires, or, Daniel, thou man of lusts. Daniel, 
du Mann der Begierungen, or, Daniel, du Mann der Luste.) 
Would not that be admirable German ! A German does in- 
deed hear the German words, Luste and Begierungen (lusts 
and desires), although they are not the best German, but Lust 
and Begier would be better. But when they are thus con- 
nected, thou man of desires, no one knows what is meant, and 
thinks that Daniel, perhaps, is full of evil lusts. That would 
then be an admirable translation I Therefore I must here dis- 
card the letter, and inquire how a German is accustomed to 
express what the Hebrew man calls Inllfan ana " then I 
find that a German speaks thus : Thou dear Daniel, thou dear 
Mary, or, thou lovely maid, gentle lady, tender woman, &c. 
For he that wishes to translate, must have a great stock of 
words, so that he may have his choice if the same word will 
not suit in every place." 

Finally, he says concerning his translation : " This I can 
most conscientiously declare, that I prosecuted this work with 
the greatest faithfulness and diligence, and was never im- 
pelled by any improper thought in connection with it : for I 
have never taken or sought a farthing for it, or gained any- 
thing by it ; neither did I seek my honour in the matter, God 
my Master knows, but I engaged in it to serve my dear fellow- 
Christians, and to honour Him who sitteth above, and who 
daily shows me so many favours, that if I were to translate a 
thousand times as much and as diligently, I would still not 
have deserved to live one hour, or to have a sound eye. It is 
all owing to his goodness and mercy that I am what I am, 
and have what I have ; yea, it flows to me through his pre- 
cious blood and bitter agony ; therefore, also, (if God permit.) 
everything shall serve him, joyfully and cheerfully. If our 
daubers and papistical asses traduce me, I have the consolar 
tion that pious Christians, with their Lord Christ, praise me, 
and I am altogether too richly rewarded if only one Christian 
acknowledges in me a faithful labourer. I do not concern 
myself about the papistical asses ; they do not deserve that 
they should appreciate my labours, and it should grieve me to 
my innermost soul if they should praise me. It is my highest 



484 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



renown and honour to be traduced by them. I will still be a 
doctor, and an able doctor too, nor shall they deprive me of 
the name to the last day, that I know. On the other hand, 
however, I have not been too free in departing from the let- 
ter, but have, together with my assistants, exercised great 
care, so that if any importance was attached to a particular 
word, I retained it according to the letter, and did not depart 
from it too freely. For instance, John vi., where Christ says i 
Him hath God the Father sealed, here it would have been bet- 
ter German to say : him hath God the Father appointed, or. 
him God the Father meaneth. But 1 preferred to do violence 
to the German language sooner than to depart from the word. 
Verily, translating is not everybody's business, as our capri- 
cious saints imagine ; it requires a very pious, faithful, dili- 
gent, fearful Christian, learned, experienced and expert heart. 
Therefore I conceive it impossible for a false Christian or 
fanatic to translate with fidelity, as is very evident from the 
Prophets translated into German at Worms, 3 in which there 
verily is evinced great diligence, and my German has been 
closely followed ; but there were Jews connected with it, who 
did not show Christ much favour, otherwise there is skill and 
diligence enough." 

In the year 1531, Luther again took up the Psalter and re- 
vised it for the last time, intending not to make any more 
changes in it in future. Of this edition he says : 44 If any one 
should wish to be overwise, and pretend that we have drawn 
the psalms too much from the words, let him retain his wis- 
dom to himself, and suffer this our Psalter to pass uncensured ? 
for we have done it designedly, and have truly mos- scrupu- 
lously weighed every word, and rendered it into German with 
all diligence and fidelity, having also had learned men enough 
to assist in the work. We nevertheless suffer our former 
German psalter also to remain, for the sake of those who may 
wish to learn from our example and footsteps, how we con- 
tinually approach nearer and nearer in translating, for the 
former German Psalter is nearer to the Hebrew in many 
places and further from the German, the present one nearer 
to the German and further from the Hebrew." On publishing 
the contents of the psalms nnd principles of translating, he, for 
the sake of those good and pious men who were also conver- 
sant with the languages, but inexperienced in translating, 
made it plain from several examples why he had in many 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION* 



485 



places so freely departed from the letter, and also sometimes 
adopted a different sense from that which the rabbis and 
grammarians of the Jews inculcated ; for where the words 
permitted it, and afforded a better sense, he had not suffered 
the grammatical rules of the rabbis to force upon him an in- 
ferior or different sense, since all schoolmen agreed that the 
sense ought not to serve and follow the words, but the words 
the sense ; and Paul moreover taught that the countenance of 
Moses was hid from the Jews, so that they mostly failed of 
the true sense of the Scriptures, especially in the Prophets. 

Again," continues he, " we have in some cases also trans- 
lated directly in accordance with the words, although we 
might have given a different and more distinct translation, 
but preferred to retain the words, because there was some 
importance attached to them, as for instance here in the 18th 
verse (of the 68th Psalm) : " Thou hast ascended on high and 
led captivity captive" Here it would no doubt have been 
good German to say : * thou hast delivered the captives ;' but 
it is too weak, and does not give the deep and rich meaning 
which the Hebrew conveys when it says : ' thou hast led cap- 
tivity captive/ which implies not only that Christ delivered 
the captives, but also that he took the captivity itself captive 
and led it away, so that it can never again take us captive, 
and thus it is as much as an eternal deliverance. In this mode 
of expression St. Paul delights, when he says : Through the 
law I died to the law. Again : Christ condemned sin through sin. 
These are the captivities which Christ has taken captive and 
abolished, so that death can no longer retain us, sin no longer 
accuse us, the law no longer terrify the conscience, as St. 
Paul everywhere inculcates this rich, noble, consoling doc- 
trine. Therefore we must, in honour of such doctrine, and 
for the comfort of our conscience, retain such words, accus- 
tom ourselves to them, and thus yield to the Hebrew lan- 
guage where it surpasses our German." 

In October, 1531, the Prophets were put to press, Luther de- 
voting two hours every day to the correction of them ; but not 
till February, 1532, did he employ himself upon the preface, 
in which he, among other things, says, that it is a great and 
powerful consolation il that we have such mighty and ancient 
witnesses for our Christian life, through whom our Christian 
faith is greatly sustained, being the approved station before 
God, in opposition to all invented, false, human sanctity and 



486 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



factions, which, through their great display, and the multitude 
of their adherents, as also on the other hand, because of the 
cross and the small number of those who abide in the Chris- 
tian faith, exceedingly disturb and assail a weak heart." 

Finally, after Luther had also translated and published the 
Apocryphal Books in rotation, there appeared, in the year 
1534 (in six divisions), " Biblia ; that is, the complete Holy Scrip- 
tures in German. Mart. Luther. Wittenberg. Graciously 
privileged by his electoral grace of Saxony. Printed by Hans 
Lufft. MDXXX1V." The labours connected with this transla- 
tion of the Bible alone already engaging Luther so wholly at 
that time, " that," as he wrote to Amsdorf, " he was unwilling, 
on account of them, as well as on account of his professional' 
labours, 4 to write against Erasmus, for he thought that the 
devil endeavoured in this way, as he had done before, to di- 
vert him from these his labours, in order that he might lose 
sight of what was more important, and engage in a useless 
strife with clouds and winds. He said, that he had before 
looked upon Erasmus as an inconsiderate babbler, but that he 
began to look upon his inconsiderateness as ignorance and 
malice, and upon Erasmus himself as nothing better than a 
Democritus or Epicure, yea, as a crafty reviler of Christ, since 
he employed ambiguous and suspicious language concerning 
the most holy things and concludes : " Yea, I should wish 
to see Erasmus entirely banished from our schools, for even if 
he does not prove injurious, he does not prove of any benefit, 
he teaches and treats of nothing rightly. Nor is it of advan- 
tage to youth to be accustomed to Erasmus's manner of speak- 
ing ; for of him they do not learn to speak or ta think with 
seriousness and thoughtfuiness on any subject, but only, after 
the manner of babblers, to laugh at everybody, and to be en- 
gaged in nothing but nonsense and trifling. In consequence 
of such trifling and nonsense, however, they become gradually 
estranged from religion, till they finally utterly refuse to hear 
anything more of it, and become perfect heathens. He ought 
to be consigned to the papists, they are worthy of such an 
apostle." 5 

Authorities. — Let. vol. 2, No. 554, 532. Vol. 3, No. 833, 1005. 
Vol. 4, No. 1211. Works, vol. 12, p. 93, seq. Vol. 4, p. 401, seq. 
Let. 1403-4, 37. Works, vol. 12, p. 13, seq. Let. No. 1534. 

Notes. — 1.) It appeared most probably first in the year 1524, under 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



487 



the title : The second part of the Old Testament. For further informa- 
tion refer to Schott, Geschichte des teutschen Bibeliibersetzung, p. 42 
seq. 

2.) In consequence of this, the Prophets, which Luther intended at 
first to embrace in the third part, were published separately, in rota- 
tion. 

3-) This translation of the Prophets appeared already in the year 
1527, and Luther, from the very beginning, expressed himself favour- 
ably with regard to it ; he still, however, did not deem his own to be 
superfluous. Comp. let. vol. 3, No. 866. 

4. ) In this year his Lectures on Isaiah, which had appeared two 
years previously already, in a very imperfect state, however, were again 
published ; but in this edition, no more than in the former, was Luther 
in any way concerned. The German translation of them is found in 
the Works, vol. 7, p. 40, seq. Luther's Sermons on the 5th, 6th, and 
7th chapters of Matthew, had also been published already in 1532, and 
that by Luther himself. Works, vol. 9, p. 185. 

5. ) This letter, together with that of Amsdorf's to Luther, which 
had occasioned it, was printed, and exasperated Erasmus anew against 
Luther ; the latter, however, remained faithful to his determination, 
and wrote nothing further against the former* 



CHAPTER V. 

LUTHER AND VERGERIUS, OR, THE NEGOTIATIONS CONCERNING THE 
COUNCIL. 1535. 

The pope and the emperor had already, in the year 1533, is- 
sued an address to the Protestant Estates, in reference to a 
Christian Council. Luther published it, with a preface, in 
which he extols the pious emperor for having so earnestly per- 
severed, till he had obtained the promise of a council from 
pope Clement VII., albeit, with the addition of articles, as 
might be seen from the sequel, and he calls upon all Christians 
to aid the emperor with their prayers, and to assist in pro- 
curing a prosperous issue. In June, the papal legate and im- 
perial orator were at Wittenberg, and were very honourably 
received there, as the elector had commanded. They did not, 
however, have any interview either with Luther, Melanchthon, 
or any other theologians. Luther was required at that time 
to preach before the elector every day, and at the same time 
to submit to him his opinion concerning the answer which* 
ought to be given to the ambassadors. In the first opinion 
submitted by him, he speaks his mind in reference to the first 
article in the address, which read thus : " The first condition 



48S 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



is, that the universal and general council, which is to be con- 
voked and held, shall be free, and be conformed to the custom 
of the Church, observed for many centuries past, from the be- 
ginning of the general and universal councils, up to this time." 
u If this article," says he, " were clear and distinct, and if the 
pope would give the assurance that the council should be held 
in accordance with God's Word, and not in accordance with 
his own customs ; there could be no question with regard to 
appearing, rendering obedience, and executing the decrees, 
since all this would then be a duty due to God, and then he 
would not for his own person make any objection to the other 
articles. But this article, he said, was knavishly and treach- 
erously drawn up, dreading the light, and skulking in the 
dark, like a semi-angel and semi-devil : it said, that the coun- 
cil should be free, as from the beginning. That if hereby were 
meant the first councils, especially that of the apostles at Je- 
rusalem, it would have to be conformed to God's Word. 
Again it said : according to the custom of the Church observed 
from ancient times to this time. By this it also embraced the 
last councils, those of Constance, of Basle, of Pisa, and that 
most disgraceful one held under Pope Leo X., in the Lateran 
at Rome, and which had become the scorn and laughing-stock 
of all the world. That such a council was a council in oppo- 
sition to God's Word, and in accordance with the conceits and 
the perverse will of men. It is palpably evident, therefore," 
added he, " that the pope by this first article mocks and de- 
rides both the emperor and our petition. For such a council 
we have not desired, neither was it promised and resolved 
upon at the diets ; he, the mendacious soul, nevertheless de- 
nominates it a free council, freely assuming for himself to 
proceed in it without hinderance, as he has been accustomed 

to proceed heretofore." " The matter on account of 

which a council is desired and is necessary, concerns the pope 
and the custom of his councils themselves, and they are to be 
a party, and not the judges ; but the Word of God is to decide 
between the pope with his councils and us ; wherefore also it 
is called a Christian, and not a papal council. They are not 
controversies in Germany (as he pretends) ; they are contro- 
versies of all Christendom regarding the Word of God, in op- 
position to the pope and his doctrines, and Christendom de- 
sires a council and decision, or testimony, concerning God's 
Word and the papacy : there lies the difficulty." 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 489 

In the second opinion, Luther advises that the articles should 
not be rejected, but unhesitatingly accepted, that the pope 
might have his mouth stopped in this way, and not have cause 
for charging everything upon the Lutherans, as if they re- 
fused to do anything, to yield in anything, or to suffer any- 
thing, being unwilling to submit to the council, to consent 
to the place of meeting, to aid in executing the decrees, 
but wishing to have everything to suit themselves, and to 
be the council themselves. That the articles should much 
rather be accepted, and the effort be made to cast all the 
charges upon the pope himself, by representing : That the 
prayer had been presented to all the diets for a free Christian 
council, and the promise had also finally been given, that his 
imperial majesty would endeavour to obtain such council from 
the pope. That the pope, however, in the first article, wholly 
refused such prayer, being unwilling to do his part, and plain- 
ly declaring that he would have the council held in accord- 
ance with former rules and customs. For such a council no 
one had prayed. Neither was there any need of a council to 
be held in accordance with former rules, least of all for the 
pope. " For we well know beforehand/' added he, " what 
will and must be determined in a council held in accordance 
with former rules, namely, that in the first place, the decrees 
of former councils be confirmed anew ; thus we have the 
whole sum of the matter, and the new council is at an end 
already. The council of Constance is, besides, so precious 
and excellent a council, held in accordance with former rules, 
that if the pope should institute a hundred councils in accord- 
ance with former rules, not one would be more precious ! 
What need of incurring so much trouble and expense in vain, 
since we do not wish or need a council in accordance with 
former rules, and the pope needs it even much less ! For in 
the council of Constance nothing has been forgotten, it having, 
on the contrary, been superabundantly fixed and settled what 
the former rules and customs were to be, as regards all teach- 
ing, living, avoiding, doing, omitting, &c, in tlje papacy. And 
all this has been so rigorously executed, that unspeakable 
quantities of blood have been shed between Germans and Bo- 
hemians, and many thousand Christians have been tortured, 
burnt and persecuted on account of it; and of such execution 
and persecution there is as yet no measure or end. What do 
we want of more councils in accordance with, former rules ? 



490 



« 

LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



Perhaps the pope also seeks such an execution of his new 
council between the Germans among themselves, as he before 
occasioned between Germans and Bohemians, the pernicious 
bloodhound and murderer." 

In the third opinion, Luther, together with his colleagues, 
again advises : " that they should by all means guard against 
incurring the charge of endeavouring to prevent the council 
from being held." That this one article only should be in- 
sisted upon, for which all nations also called, that matters 
should be decided according to God's Word, and not according 
to papal statutes ; thus misrepresentation would be guarded 
against. That other nations were just as weary of papal 
power, and the doctrines of the monks, as the German nation 
was. That it would be hazardous to propose special articles 
in regard to the holding of the proceedings, the appointment 
of impartial judges, &c, and that it would be more safe to re- 
quest the emperor in general to cause all things to be con- 
ducted in a proper and christian manner. That an opposing 
council would also at present be unnecessary, and would be 
interpreted as defiance. 

And in a fourth opinion they again advised : " Not to treat 
of anything further now, but what was necessary and plausi- 
ble, and to give no occasion to the pope or the emperor to 
prefer charges against us. If they then institute or do not 
institute a council, there will be time sufficient to consult." 

When, two years later, the negotiations concerning a coun- 
cil were again opened under pope Paul III., and the elector 
desired to know of Luther, " whether he ought to say any- 
thing in addition to the former answer, given to the legates of 
his imperial majesty and Pope Clement two years previous ;" 
Luther (under date of the 20th August, 1535) replied, that 
said answer was sufficiently explicit and Christian in its over- 
tures, and added, in reference to the place of meeting : " Al- 
though for my own part, it matters little to me where the 
place of meeting would be in the whole world, for I cannot 
yet persuade myself that they mean it seriously, and if they 
did mean it seriously, I have long since deserved that my en- 
raged saints should get me into their power, and consign me 
to the flames ; and your electoral grace will no doubt know 
what answer to return, in case they should further insist on 
the place of meeting. I hope and pray that God may so order 
matters that they may be constrained in earnestness to con- 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



491 



voke a council, which might be called free and Christian. But 
I am here as the unbelieving Thomas, — I must place my hands 
in the sides and prints, otherwise I do not believe. God, never- 
theless, can do more than this, in his hands are the hearts of 
all men." 

The papal legate, Paul Vergerius, who had been despatched 
to Germany because of the council, came also to Wittenberg, 
and on the day following, invited Luther and Bugenhagen to 
breakfast. Both accordingly breakfasted with him at the 
castle. Concerning this meeting we have this report : " On 
the Sunday after All-Saints, the papal embassy having entered 
Wittenberg the evening before, with twenty horses and one 
ass, and been very honourably received by the bailiff, and con- 
ducted to their lodgings at the castle, Dr. Martin Luther was 
invited to an interview with the legate. Dr. Luther accord- 
ingly early that Sunday sent for a barber to have himself 
shaved and dressed. The barber having arrived, said : i Doc- 
tor, how does it come to pass that you wish to be shaved so 
early this morning? ' Dr. Luther replied: 'I have been in- 
vited to come to the legate of the holy father, the pope, there- 
fore I must have myself dressed, that I may appear young : 
then the legate will think : what in all the world, if Luther 
is so young yet, and has occasioned so much trouble already, 
what will he not accomplish in future 1 ' And Master Henry 
having now finished shaving him, he dressed himself in his 
best apparel, and hung a golden ornament around his neck ; 
whereupon the barber said : - Verily, doctor, that will vex 
them.' Luther said : ' For this very purpose I do it. They 
have vexed us more than enough, it is necessary to act thus 
towards serpents and foxes.' To which the barber replied : 
* Now, good Doctor, do you go in the name of God, and may 
the Lord be with you, that you may convert them.' Dr. Lu- 
ther rejoined : ' That I shall not do, but it may well happen 
that I shall read a good lecture to them, and leave them to 
themselves.' And Luther, having spoken this, entered the 
carriage, and drove to the legate to the castle, and, as he was 
seated in the carriage, he laughed and said : ' Behold, here 
drive the German pope and cardinal Pomeranus ; they are 
God's instruments and witnesses.' And thus he drove up to 
the castle, and caused himself to be announced that he had 
arrived. Thereupon he was immediately admitted and re- 
ceived, and he in return received them, but not with such no- 



492 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



ble titles with which the legates of the popes were received 
in former times. And among other things, they began to speak 
about a council, with reference to which Dr. Martin Luther 
addressed him thus : ' You do not seriously intend to hold a 
council, you are merely trifling ; and even if you did hold a 
council, you would treat of nothing else than hoods, bald pates, 
food and drink, and other such nonsensical, useless, and need- 
less things, of which we verily know beforehand, and are fully 
assured, that they are of no account. But concerning faith 
and justification, as well as other useful and important things, 
how believers, for instance, may be united in spirit and faith, 
it is not at all your intention to treat, for it would discomfit 
you. We are fully persuaded, through the Holy Ghost, on all 
points, and have no need of any council for ourselves, but de- 
sire it for the sake of those wretched men who are oppressed 
by your tyranny, for you do not know what you believe. Be- 
hold, now, if you are anxious, institute one, and, by the help 
of God, I shall come, even though I knew that you would con- 
sign me to the flames." Then the legate said : " In what city 
do you desire to have the council ? " Luther replied : " Where- 
ever you deem it convenient, whether at Mantua, Padua, or 
Florence, or where you see proper." Then the legate in- 
quired : " Would you come to Bononia 1 " Luther inquired in 
return : " Whose is Bononia ? " The legate said : " The 
pope's ! " Luther answered : " Almighty God ! has the pope 
also acquired possession of this city? — yes, I will come 
thither." Upon this the legate remarked, the pope would not 
refuse to come hither to you to Wittenberg. Luther rejoined : 
" Very well, let him come, we should wish to see him." The 
legate replied : " How do you wish to see him — with an army 
or without one?" Luther answered: "As he deems proper, 
we will expect both." Then the legate inquired of him : " Do 
you also consecrate priests ? " Luther replied : " Certainly 
we do, for the pope won't consecrate or ordain any for us. 
And, behold, there sits a bishop whom we have consecrated," 
pointing to Dr. Pomeranus. 

Concerning these and many other things they conversed to- 
gether, which have not all become known. But, in short, Dr. 
Martin Luther told him everything he had upon his mind, and 
which the necessity of the case demanded, without the least 
fear or terror, and with great seriousness. And as the legate 
was now seated upon his horse, and about to ride away, he 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



493 



said to Dr. Luther : " See to it that you be prepared for the 
council." Luther replied : " I shall come, sir, with this my 
neck." 

In this year Luther also published several books in reference 
to the council, as for instance : A number of Theses drawn up 
in opposition to the Concilium Obstantiense. In the preface, he 
says, that he had lately, by accident, taken up the history of 
the council of Constance, and found it to be much worse than 
he had believed, it being impossible to express in words, or to 
reach in thought, what a pernicious game the veritable Satan 
had played there. That the praiseworthy town had a noble 
name, Constantia, signifying constancy, or a firm manly dispo- 
sition, wherefore the council was called, Constantiense, but he, 
Dr. Martin, intended to re-baptize it, and to assign it its pro- 
per name, Obstantiense Concilium, Obstantia signifying opposi- 
tion, and they truly had opposed themselves to Christ, and his 
Church there. In the 194th theses, he treats especially con- 
cerning the sacrament in both forms. 

So he also issued a Summons to a free Christian Council, in 
which he represents the Holy Ghost as true God, highest Lord 
and governor of the universal holy Christian Church ; as com- 
plaining of the tyranny and obstinacy of the pope, and pub- 
lishing that He, because the pope had refused to do so, had 
resolved, in virtue of his divine might and power, without any 
intermediation, forthwith to summon, appoint, and assemble a 
general free Christian council, at which he himself would be 
present in all the sessions, preside over the deliberations, hear 
the affairs with regard to the Church and religion, carefully 
consider and investigate them, and bring them to an entirely 
successful and satisfactory issue and conclusion, before the 
termination of the council. 1 

Daring this year, Luther became sensible that he was grow- 
ing old, not so much in years as in strength, becoming almost 
wholly unable to labour in the forenoon, and he prayed the 
friend to whom he wrote this, to entreat God that he might 
graciously remove him to a better world. Concerning the 
pestilence, which was reported to prevail at Wittenberg at 
that time, and concerning which the elector had caused him 
to be written to, he answered on the 9th July : That he could 
not believe that the pestilence existed there, as long as his un- 
failing weathercock, the bailiff, Hans Metzsch, still remained 
there, who had heretofore exercised so sober a vulture's nose 



494 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



against the pestilence, that he would undoubtedly scent it 
even if it were buried six feet under ground. That the stu- 
dents, however, appeared to be well pleased with this cry- 
about the pestilence, " for some," said he, " become afflicted 
with soreness from sitting, some become infected with the 
colic from their books, some with the scab from their pens, 
some with the gout from their paper. Many find their ink to 
have become mouldy ; some also have swallowed the letters 
of (heir mammas, which have caused them to get the heart- 
ache, and a love for their country, and there may possibly be 
more such unfavourable symptoms for aught I know. And 
there is danger here, if parents and superiors do not earnestly 
apply the requisite remedies, and thus arrest these maladies, 
that there will be a general mortality, till it will be impossi- 
ble to obtain either preachers, pastors, or school teachers, and 
swine and dogs will have to be suffered to pass for the best 
cattle, for which the papists also earnestly labour. But may 
Christ our Lord graciously and mercifully enable your electo- 
ral grace in future, as heretofore, as well as all pious Chris- 
tian authorities, to keep an effective remedy and antidote in 
store for such disease, to the honour and praise of God, and to 
the vexation of Satan, the enemy of all liberal arts and dis- 
cipline. Amen." On the 19th July, the rector, nevertheless, 
in consequence of the contagion, called upon the students to 
betake themselves to Jena, as being a healthy place, whither 
a goodly number of the doctors and professors would follow ; 
Luther, however, remained, and thought that the devil was 
only keeping carnival with such needless terror. 

Authorities. — Works, vol. 21, p. 111. Let. No. 1522. ell. Seek- 
end. lib. III., 1523. I — IV., 1655, 1680. Works, vol. 21, p. 131, 
seq. Treatise : Several Theses, etc., ib. p. 122, seq. Treatise : 
Summons to a free Christian council, p. 139, seq. Let. No. 1656, 47. 
Corp. Ref. T. II., p. 890. Let. No. 1651. 

Note. — 1.) Among Luther's other labours of the year 1535, must, 
be mentioned in particular the second and more extensive Exposition of 
the Epistle to the Galatians. the translation of which, by Justus Me- 
nius, is to bo found in the Works, vol. II, p. 1. Concerning tho first, 
see p. 155. 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION , 



495 



CHAPTER VI. 

the dispute concerning the sacrament, and the wittenberg 

union. 1536. 

Martin Bucer, who had already in the year 1530 visited Lu- 
ther at Coburg, in order to negotiate with him concerning a 
union on the article of the Lord's Supper (see p. 389), had soon 
after transmitted to the same the confession of the four cities, 
for the purpose of opening the negotiations anew. Upon this 
Luther replied to him on the 22d January, 1531, that he was 
pleased with the confession, and praised God that they were 
at least so far united, as on both sides to acknowledge the 
body and blood of Christ to be truly present in the Lord's 
Supper, and to be dispensed with the words as food to the 
soul. But he was surprised, he said, both on account of Bu- 
cer' s asserting Zwinglius and CEcolampadius to be of the same 
opinion, and also on account of their hesitating to confess 
that the body of Christ was dispensed also outwardly with 
the bread to the mouth of the pious and of the wicked, since, 
if it was admitted that it was dispensed to the individual 
souls, it necessarily followed that it was present, and dispensed 
in several places at once. That he, therefore, if they were 
not yet convinced of this, deemed it best to defer the matter 
till God might further grant his grace, as he could not depart 
from his view, that being required by the words of Christ. 
That he could not, therefore, now acknowledge himself to be 
fully and wholly united with them, unless he meant to violate 
his conscience, or even to sow the seed for still greater con- 
fusion and discord between the two churches. That the mat- 
ter should therefore be committed to God, and the union mean- 
while settled so far, as to acknowledge on both sides, that the 
body of the Lord was truly present, and was internally dis- 
pensed to the believing soul ; it being better to choose the least 
of two evils, and to endure the smaller division, which at any 
rate afforded some peace, than to occasion still greater strife 
by such a union. He then, in conclusion, assures Bucer, as 
he had already done at Coburg, that he very anxiously desired 
the adjustment of the dispute, and if it should thrice cost him 
his life, because he had seen how greatly this division had 
been to the disparagement of the Gospel. 

So he likewise wrote to Duke Ernst of Luneberg, at whose 



496 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



desire he had replied to M. Bucer, and among other things 
said : " I would willingly die to have it true that the strife, as 
M. Bucer pretends, has reference only to words. Such a dis- 
pute should not have maintained itself long, nor ever have 
begun, if that were so. I verily desire union thus much, as I 
represented to him more in detail at Coburg. Therefore I 
deem this negotiation to suffice for the present, till God may 
further grant his grace, that we, namely, on both sides, desist 
from writing against one another, having sufficiently exhorted 
and understood each other on both sides. If God has gracious- 
ly granted grace, that they admit the body of Christ to be 
bodily present in the sacrament to the soul, I entertain the 
hope that they will finally also admit, that it is in like man- 
ner present to the participant outwardly in the bread, for 
truly I cannot perceive any difference or difficulty. In short, 
we will pray and hope for a complete and happy adjustment, 
but will not fish in advance of the net, or rashly pronounce a 
union where there is none." To the elector, also, who had 
called upon him to declare to him his views with reference to 
this matter, he replied, that he could not yield any further, 
and in an especial opinion he once more repeated his views 
concerning Bucer's proposals for union. Having heard, there- 
fore, how some boasted that a union had been entered into 
between himself and the Zwinglians, and that he even had 
wholly assented to their views, he declared that he had not in 
the least departed from his own views, but wished that their 
explanations might be endured for a time, in order to win 
them over. 

Meanwhile he did not omit continually to warn both pri- 
vate individuals, as Kaspar Huberinus, of Augsburg, to be- 
ware of the fanatics and to avoid them, and also, in the year 
1532, more particularly Duke Albrecht of Prussia, who had 
transmitted to him his writing on the Lord's Supper, and the 
6th chapter of John, that he should by no means endure such 
men as the followers of Miinzer and Zwinglius in his domin- 
ions, bearing in mind the advice of St. Paul and of the Holy 
Ghost, Titus iii., 10, 11. "For," said he at the close of this 
writing, your princely grace must consider, that if you should 
admit and endure such fanatics, whilst you can withstand and 
prevent them, you would fearfully burden your conscience, 
and perhaps would never again be able to be at peace with 
yourself, not only because of the souls which would in conse- 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



497 



quence be seduced and lost, and which your princely grace 
might well have preserved, but also because of the whole 
Christian Church, since the permission to teach anything in 
opposition to the ancient and universally received faith and 
uniform testimony of the Church, when you can well prevent 
this, would prove a most grievous burthen to your conscience." 
So he also, on learning that they had willingly and sincerely 
received the Word of God at Mimster, prayed the council of 
this town to exercise all diligence and care, to beware of the 
Zwinglian and fanatic doctrine on the sacrament, as well as 
faithfully to exhort and to warn all their preachers, -that they 
would by all means watch and pray, and guard themselves 
and their people against such false teachers. 

Having upon this learned from such as were returning from 
the Frankfort fair, that the Zwinglian doctrine on the Lord's 
Supper was taught in that city, although in a way which 
made it appear as if it were one and the same thing with 
what he and his friends taught, so that no person knew to a 
certainty what was taught and believed, he in the beginning 
of the year 1533, wrote also " To those of Frankfort on the 
Maine, to beware of Zwinglian doctrines and teachers" and, 
because his advice had been desired on this point, he added 
to this writing a brief " Instruction concerning confession" as 
an ancient, praiseworthy, christian and necessary discipline, 
through which Christians were exercised and prepared to live 
properly, to learn Christ, and to confess him before the world. 
Similar reports had reached him concerning the preachers at 
Augsburg ; it was said, namely, that they acted and pretended 
as if they were agreed with him on the doctrine of the highly 
revered sacrament of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, 
whilst they in reality taught differently, and dispensed nolhing 
but mere bread and wine to the people. He therefore, also, 
in a letter of the 8th August of the same year, prayed the 
council of Augsburg to insist that their preachers might not 
boast to the people, as if they taught and believed as he did, 
because he did not wish that the people should be deceived 
under his name. 

In the same year Luther had published a treatise " Con- 
cerning private masses and the consecration of priests " in which 
he showed, that private masses were not enjoined by God. but 
were a mere invention of men, and that it was a shocking 
doctrine to teach that a priest converted the bread into the 

32 



498 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 



body of Christ, in virtue of the chrism or consecration ; it 
being his design to aid by such writing in the abolishment of 
the chrism and the private masses, and in the collection of 
such scandals from the kingdom of Christ, as well as in again 
restoring to the Church the vocation or proper consecration 
and ordination to the ministerial office. But although he had, 
at the close of this writing, exhorted not only the papists, but 
also the fanatics, not to pervert this his book, some good peo- 
ple were nevertheless apprehensive that it might be under- 
stood as if he sided, or would in time side, with the fanatics 
or enemies of the sacrament. He accordingly, in the year 
1534, found it necessary explicitly to declare himself in the 
letter " to a good friend in reference to his book concerning pri- 
vate masses" and once more to confess before God and all the 
world, that he believed and did not doubt, that where mass 
or the Lord's Supper was celebrated in accordance with the 
institution of Christ, there also was present, under the form 
of bread, the true body of Christ, given for us on the cross, 
and under the form of wine the true blood of Christ, shed for 
us ; as also that such body and blood of the Son of God, Jesus 
Christ, were dispensed and bodily received, not only by saints 
and those that are worthy, but also by sinners and the unwor- 
thy. He here once more recurs to the private and sacrificial 
masses, and says that he did not contend against the sacra- 
ment, but against the mass, wishing anxiously so to separate 
the sacrament from the mass, that the mass might perish, and 
the sacrament alone, without the mass, be retained in its hon- 
ours, and according to the institution of our dear Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

Not long after, he received a letter from the Landgrave of 
Hesse, in which the latter desired that Luther would take the 
subject in reference to the sacrament into christian and se- 
rious consideration, that an enduring union might be estab- 
lished between them and the upland preachers. In his reply, 
Luther assured the landgrave that he had always most ear- 
nestly desired union, wherefore he requested the landgrave to 
learn from Bucer and his friends how they were disposed in 
reference to this matter, and how far they were ready^to yield 
or not ; that he himself would not at all be wanting, although 
he thought that there would not be many among the upland 
preachers that would follow Bucer. That the agreement, 
however, would have to be full, complete, and certain, other- 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



499 



wise it would after all fail, although to his own heart nothing 
would be more agreeable than a permanent union. And al- 
though he apprehended that no complete union would be es- 
tablished, and that the journey of Melanchthon in this matter 
would be wholly in vain, he nevertheless permitted the latter 
to proceed to Cassel, in order to negotiate with Bucer con- 
cerning the union, and at the same time transmitted with him 
his opinion in writing, consisting of seven points, and reading 
thus : In the first place, the declaration cannot be in any way 
approved, that neither party has understood the other, for this 
is deemed false on both sides. Secondly, J cannot in anyway 
deem it advisable to inculcate a new or intermediate doctrine, 
for the purpose of promoting the union ; this would exceed- 
ingly perplex men, and would give rise to many thousand 
questions and opinions. Thirdly, we have the clear, distinct 
text of the Gospel, as well as many passages of the fathers, in 
support of our doctrine. Fourthly, the passages from St. Au- 
gustine concerning the signs, are not strong enough to subvert 
the three points stated. Fifthly, as to the strongest passage 
of St. Augustine against us, it easily admits of such an inter- 
pretation as to show that the meaning of Augustine is not op- 
posed to the plain words. Sixthly, I cannot understand Au- 
gustine otherwise than as having of necessity, in opposition to 
the Jews and heathens, taught that the body of Christ was 
not eaten visibly or perceptibly, being constrained thus to de- 
fend the faith of the, sacrament. Seventhly, if these points 
are admitted, it will not need much entreaty with me, for I 
would willingly, if possible, make an end of this strife at the 
expense even of my life. 

The interview at Cassel took place in December of the 
year 1534, and Melanchthon having returned from Cassel 
with the information that Bucer and others offered to teach in 
accordance with the Confession and the Apology in regard to 
all Christian doctrine, as well as the sacrament, Luther, in 
January of the following year, declared to the elector that he 
could not for himself reject such union, but deemed it best 
not to conclude the union in such haste, lest the opposite party 
should be taken by surprise, and become divided. Wherefore 
he wished that on their own side the opinion of Osiander, 
Brenz, Urbanus Regius, &c, and on the other side, of those in 
the cities, might first be fully ascertained, in order that greater 



500 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



confusion might not be occasioned, but rather a general union 
be established. 

In the same year Luther was informed, through a letter and 
embassy from the Council of Augsburg, that they were dis- 
posed then to be united with the Wittenbergers on the doc- 
trine of the sacrament. His great joy at this he expresses in 
the two letters which he on the 20th of July wrote to the 
council and the preachers of this city. The latter he assured 
that nothing had afforded him greater joy, since the Gospel 
had again arisen, than the prospect of at last seeing an end 
made of this sad division. " Therefore, I pray you, through 
Christ," said he, further, " who has begun this work in you, 
continue and firmly abide in this fruit of the Spirit, and do 
you evince such cordial and upright love' towards us, as we 
evince true love and sincerity in receiving you. And you are 
to be assured in Christ that you shall not have occasion to 
charge us with any reluctance joyfully to do and even to suf- 
fer everything, for the sakg of confirming this union. For if 
this union is confirmed, I shall sing with tears of joy : Lord, 
now permittest thou thy servant to depart in peace ! because 
then I shall leave peace to the Church, that is, the honour of 
God, the punishment of Satan, and wrath upon all enemies 
and adversaries." Soon after this, the cities of Strasburg, 
Vim and Esslingen had also applied to Luther and expressed 
their willingness to enter into a union. To these, as well as 
to the preachers of Strasburg, who had meanwhile written to 
him a second time, he replied on the 5th October, that he not 
only willingly accepted this union in the spirit, but also returned 
thanks to them for it, they having excited in him great confi- 
dence that they meant it honestly and uprightly with this 
agreement ; wherefore, he exhorted them to continue in Christ, 
faithfully and watchfully to promote this cause among their 
people, as he anxiously wished, before his death, which he be 
lieved and hoped was not far distant, to see this, their union, 
confirmed." He also begged them to consult whether it would 
not be necessary for a number of the preachers very soon to 
come together at some particular place, for the purpose of con- 
versing upon this and other subjects. In the letter to the 
preachers at Strasburg, he had further observed, that it would 
be necessary to hold an assembly, especially because the mat- 
ter was one which concerned many and great princes and na- 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



501 



tions, and he had proposed some place in Hesse or Coburg for 
the purpose. From these words the Strasburgers had con- 
cluded that the proposed assembly was made dependent upon 
the consent of the princes and cities ; wherefore, he, in a let- 
ter of the 27th November, declared to them, that this was not 
what he had wished, he having thought merely that the as- 
sembly would be more likely to be held with their consent. 
That as far as he himself was concerned, he wished that the 
convention might be held, even if the princes or cities did not 
interest themselves in it. As regarded the time, he thought 
the convention could not well meet before the next Easter fes- 
tival ; he would nevertheless hold himself in readiness for any 
time, as he anxiously wished to be present himself. The place 
he offered to announce, as soon as the elector should have re- 
turned, to whom he would propose Eisenach, Gotha, or Weimar, 
as he would scarcely permit him to go beyond his dominions. 
Having accordingly besought the elector to state what place 
would be most agreeable to him, he, on the 25th March. 1536, 
informed Bucer, that the elector had appointed Eisenach as the 
place for the convention, and he proposed the fourth Sunday 
after Easter for the meeting ; did not object, however, if the 
third or any other Sunday should be more convenient to him 
and the rest. He at the same time prayed him to give notice 
to Brenz, Schnepf, and whom else they wished to have attend, 
he himself would inform Osiander and other Nurembergers, 
but none of the other Uplanders. On the 12th May, however, 
he was constrained to write to Wolfg. Capito, that he could 
not be at the appointed place on the day specified, as bodily 
weakness prevented him from journeying that far ; wherefore 
he prayed him and his friends to betake themselves to Grimma, 
where he would be present on the 5th Sunday after Easter ; 

or. if this should be impossible in consequence of sickness, he 
could at least exchange letters witn ms irienas tnere m one 

day. But because the strangers were anxious to see Witten- 
berg, they despatched a messenger ahead, requesting Cruciger 
and Philip to remain at home, for they wished rather to treat 
of all the matters, even more than was necessary, with the 
fathers there, having so long been anxious to meet them, than 
elsewhere, to surmise many things of which they could not be 
fully apprized. 

Finally, on the Sunday which is called Vocem Jucunditatis, 
(at that time the 21st May), they came to Wittenberg, after 



502 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



Melancthon, who had already been on his way to Grimma, had 
also returned again. The arrival of Bucer and his associates, 
however, did not please Luther, because he had banished all 
hopes of the union, and the letters of Zwinglius and QEcolam- 
padius had just at that time been published, in which the pious 
elector and Dr. Luther were so severely assailed, that nothing 
was less to be expected than that the opponents should be be- 
lieved to be sincerely desirous of union, there being not the 
least prospect of any from them. And although Menius and 
Myconius informed Luther of what they had themselves heard 
from the strangers at Gotha, and on the road, as they had dis- 
puted with them, they could still only with difficulty prevail 
upon him to admit that they had been sincere in all they had 
said and done. 

Early on the 22d May, about 7 o'clock, Bucer and Capito 
paid Luther a visit, and at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, there as- 
sembled at Luther's house, Pomeranus, Jonas, Cruciger, Philip, 
Menius, Myconius, besides Weller and Rorarius, on the one 
side, and Bucer and Capito on the other. They being now 
seated, and Bucer being desired to reply in reference to what 
Luther had said to him in the morning of that day, Bucer de- 
livered a lengthy and diffuse discourse, in which he expressed 
his joy at this convention, and afterwards related how he had 
laboured for nearly four years to have them all united. To 
this Luther replied, that he desired nothing more than that a 
true, enduring, proper union might again be established be- 
tween them ; but because the epistles of Zwinglius and GEco- - 
lampadius had lately been published, with the knowledge and 
consent of Bucer, with Bucer's own epistle prefixed, and other 
books besides had been published, in which the true doctrine 
was rejected ; he could not see how a permanent and true 

nninn nnnlrl hp psra Vilished hpl.Wftpn r.hem. as thev tan°"ht Hr»r»_ 

trines so directly opposite. That he therefore deemed it better 
to suffer the matter to rest and to remain in the former posi- 
tion, than to render the affair, which was bad enough already, 
a hundred times worse by a feigned and coloured union. 

These remarks greatly confounded Bucer ; he nevertheless 
began a lengthy, though very confused and irregular reply, 
saying that there was no fucus or deception in the matter, as 
they had declared their opinion before the government and in 
the churches, as well as in the consultations and conventions of 
the teachers of Upper Germany, and had afterwards declared it 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



503 



in words, books, writings and sermons. He further declared that 
the epistles of Zwinglius and QEcolampadins had been published, 
not only without his knowledge, but also in opposition to his 
express desire, and that his epistle was not a preface, but a 
letter from the previous year, written to others, and not intend- 
ed to be published, the publication being owing wholly to the 
avarice of the printer. Upon this Luther, with great earnest- 
ness, repeated, that there should either be a true union, or none 
at all. For this purpose, he said, two things in particular 
were necessary. In the first place, they would have to revoke 
and pronounce false their strange doctrine, which was not that 
of Christ, the Apostles, or of the Church, but which they had 
nevertheless hitherto taught and ventured to inculcate and 
impress upon others. In the second place, they would have 
henceforth, unitedly with them, to teach the true doctrine. 
Then he pointed out to them how they had thus far all the 
while approached nearer and nearer, and said : " It is there- 
fore necessary, now, in order to remove all cause for doubt or 
suspicion on both sides, that you, and those who have been 
sent hither with you, declare to us, whether you teach and be- 
lieve, that the bread is the body of Christ given for us, and the 
wine the blood of Christ, who has thus instituted it, whether 
the minister who dispenses it, or he that receives it, be worthy 
or unworthy." During these remarks and replies, Dr. Luther 
became so faint in consequence of bodily weakness, that he 
was constrained to cease, wherefore he prayed them to con- 
sult upon these matters between themselves, and after due de- 
liberation, to state on the morrow what they could confess and 
were willing to teach with them. 

In the forenoon of the 23d May, Luther likewise felt indis- 
posed to treat, and the negotiation was accordingly not re- 
sumed till three o'clock in the afternoon. Then Luther briefly 
repeated what he had proposed on the day previous, and in- 
quired whether they were willing to retract, each of them, 
what he had taught and spread abroad in opposition to the 
doctrine and meaning of Christ, the Scriptures, and the Church ? 
Further, whether they were resolved, abidingly and conform- 
ingly, to teach the doctrine concerning the true presence of the 
body of Christ in, or with the bread of the Lord's Supper ? 
Upon this Bucer confessed that he had renounced, revoked and 
acknowledged his error, and would also once more retract, by 
word of mouth and in writing, and in whatever way it could 



504 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATIO??. 



be done. Then he confessed for himself, and also in the stead? 
and the name of the Swiss, that the bread in the Lord's Sap- 
per was truly the, body of Christ, and the wine was truly the 
blood of Christ, and that the body and the blood of Christ 
were also truly received, namely, the natural, real body, &c, 
not only with the heart, but also with the mouth of those that 
receive it, worthily to salvation, unworthily to damnation. 
Thereupon, Luther, in the presence of all, questioned the other 
strangers, one after the other, and each one replied that he con- 
fessed, believed, taught, and defended precisely what, and as 
Bucer had now declared; and that they intended also to teach 
thus in future, wherefore they prayed that they might not be 
suspected of any design or fraud. They all also very humbly 
and earnestly prayed that they might, as members in Christ, 
be received into such union of faith and true brotherly love. 
Upon this Luther went into a side-chamber with his friends to 
consult with them what should further be done. Each one 
being questioned, therefore, they all replied with one accord : 
" That if they in their hearts believed as they had declared, 
confessed with their lips, and thus instructed the Church, they 
could be received." They having again returned, Luther re- 
lated everything with great spirit and animation, which was 
perceptible also in his eyes and his whole countenance, and 
said: ik Worthy friends and brethren: we have now heard the 
reply and the confession of you all, and learn that you believe 
and teach, that in the Lord's Supper there are given and re- 
ceived the true body and the true blood of the Lord, and not 
merely bread and wine ; that this act of giving and receiving, 
moreover, truly occurs, and is not merely imaginary and 
feigned ; your objections having reference simply to the wick- 
ed ; but you confess, nevertheless, that, as St. Paul says, ' the 
unworthy cannot make the body of the Lord be absent ; ' con- 
cerning this we shall not dispute. Because, therefore, you are 
thus disposed, we are united, and receive you, as our dear 
brethren in the Lord, as far as concerns this article." 

Thus, then, peace and union were concluded between those 
that were assembled. And Capito and Bucer began to weep, 
and on both sides, they with folded hands and reverend pos- 
ture returned thanks to God the Lord. On the 24th May, the 
day of the ascension of Christ, they did nothing further than 
attend preaching. At vespers, Luther preached concerning 
Mark xvi. 15, so nobly and so instructively, that Myconius, 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



505 



who was present, confesses: "I, indeed, had often heard Lu- 
ther preach, but at that time, it wholly seemed to me, as if he 
did not speak only, but thundered from heaven itself, in the 
name of Christ." On the 25th May, the form of union, which 
Melanchthon had drawn up, was presented, and as but few 
from both sides were assembled, and it was nevertheless the 
common cause of the princes, churches, and other pastors of 
the flock of the Lord, it was resolved to communicate such ne- 
gotiation to those that were absent, by writing, that they 
might also enter into such union. On the 28th, Capito and 
Bucer received the holy supper of the Lord, in testimony of 
their full union. In the morning, Alberus preached ; at noon, 
Bucer ; and at vespers, Luther. The latter having Bucer to 
sup with him in the evening, among other things, extolled the 
sermon he had delivered, with the addition, however, - I am a 
better preacher." Bucer upon this remarking, that Luther 
was justly regarded as such by everybody, the latter rejoined 
with sternness : " you must not imagine that I mean foolishly 
to laud myself; I well know my weakness, and could not de- 
liver so acute and learned a sermon as we heard from you to- 
day, but I am accustomed, on ascending the pulpit, to look 
around, and to observe what kind of people sit before me, and 
because the majority are Vandals, (thus he denominates the 
common, simple people, because the Vandals in former times 
dwelt in those regions of country,) I preach to them as I 
think they can understand it ; but you soar altogether too 
high in the Gaischt, Gaischt (spirit) (thus he pronounced this 
word in imitation of Bucer's Suabian or Alsatian dialect), 
therefore your sermons are indeed suited for the learned, but 
our simple people caimui uudcj otan<l you. ^^nrdingly, I deal 
with these as a loving mother with her weeping child, into the 
mouth of which she gives her breast as well as she can, nour- 
ishing it with her milk, which tastes better to it, and is relished 
by it more than if she presented it with the. most precious 
juice of roses and other syrups from the apothecary." 

On the 29th May, the form of union was subscribed by those 
that were present, and afterwards also by a number of other 
theologians. 

On the same day Luther despatched two letters, one to the 
council of Strasburg, the other to the council of Augsburg, in 
which he prayed them to do their part that such union might 
be strengthened and rendered enduring, and if this union 



506 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 



should be acceptable to them and all the preachers, to give 
written information of it in due time, as he again would also 
inform them of the acceptance of his friends, that it might 
then be published in honour of God, and to the reproach of 
Satan and his members. Shortly thereafter he transmitted to 
Amsdorf the negotiations which had been held at Wittenberg 
concerning union, and begged him that he would also commu- 
nicate the same to the rest, especially the preachers in the 
larger cities, in order to obtain their opinion with regard to 
them, since he did not wish to have anything concluded upon 
without the consent of both parties. The preachers of Augs- 
burg gave Luther their unanimous consent to the union in 
August, so likewise somewhat later did the magistracy of 
Ulm. The churches of the Swiss had thus far not yet assent- 
ed to the union ; it was nevertheless hoped and said, that the 
cities and the people, quite weary of the dispute, desired a 
union. 

Authorities.— Let. No. 1347, 49, 52, 53, 65, 1429, 45, 96. 
Treatise : Letter to those of Frankfort on the Maine. Works, vol. 21, 
p. 66. Let. No. 1533. Treatise : Concerning private masses and 
the consecration of priests. Works, vol. 21, p. 34. Treatise : Letter 
of Dr. Martin Luther concerning his book on private masses, &c, ib. 
p. 61. Let. No. 1605, 13, 14. Corp. ref. T. [I., p. 827. Let. No. 
1629. Corp. Ref. T. II., p. 836, 843. Let No. 1648, 49, 69—72, 
69, 84. 97, 1704, 12. The account of the negotiations according to 
both reports, Works, vol. 21, p. 97, seq. and p. 101. MSS. of Ratzen- 
berger, in Seckend. lib. III., p. 131. Let. No. 1714, 15, 18, 23, 28, 
45, 18. 

Note 1.) This letter was published under the title : Missive of Dr. 
Martin Luther against several fanatics. Worlds, vol. 20, p. 354. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE CONVENTION AT SCHMALKALDEN, AND THE SCHMALKALD 
ARTICLES. 1537. 

On the 2d June, 1536, Pope Paul III. issued a bull, in which 
he announced that a council would be held at Mantua, on the 
23d May, of the year 1537, " in order, by means of such sacred 
and wholesome remedy, not only to eradicate all heresy and 
error from the field of the Lord, and to reform the morals of 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



507 



Christendom, but also to establish a general peace and union 
among Christians, and, by means of a general expedition, un- 
der the banner of the holy cross, against unbelievers, again to 
regain our kingdom and dominion," &c. Upon this Luther, 
in common with Caspar Cruciger, John Bugenhagen, Jerome 
Schurff, Melchior Kling, and Philip Melanchthon, submitted 
the following opinion. As it, in the first place, is not yet 
known whether the legate, who is despatched to Germany for 
the purpose of convoking the princes to a consultation, will 
convoke the protestant princes as well as the other estates, or 
cite them as a party ; it is not advisable to meet him with the 
message that he will not be heard. For if the elector and his 
friends are convoked as well as the other estates, the pope 
therewith consents to their being heard in the council, and 
constituting a part of it, and it would have the appearance of 
a free council, as well as be an admission, on the part of the 
pope, that they are not heretics. If the legate, however, is 
not heard, the princes on our side wourld not only be excluded 
by the other estates, but they would also with plausibility be 
accused to the emperor as having become contumacious, and 
as contemning his majesty and the whole council, which 
would then cause the adversaries to expedite the council so 
much the more, in order to proceed against them as contra 
contumaces. To the objection, however, that we, by accept- 
ing the vocation, approve of the pope's having summoned a 
council alone, and thus subject ourselves to the pope, we an- 
swer : This convocation of the pope is not a command, neither 
is it a summons of any one before his own bar, but before the 
bar of another, namely, that of the council. By giving au- 
dience to the legate, we do not subject ourselves to the de- 
cisions of the pope, for the pope here onlv exercises the au- 
thority committed to him by the other estates, just as the 
bishop of Mayence is authorized to convoke the electors ; and 
although the pope does not possess this authority of convoking 
others in virtue of Divine right, the other ancient councils 
have nevertheless given him that authority, for instance, that 
of Nice, and we do not assail such outward ecclesiastical re- 
gulations. And though in former times some emperors did: 
summon uuuuuils, the empire being then in one hand, it can- 
not be of any avail now, as foreign nations would not heed 
the summons. In the second place, if the summons is the 
same as to the other estates, a general answer can be return- 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 



ed, similar to those previously given, representing that we 
have appealed to a free christian council, and hope that im- 
partial men will be selected to decide upon the disputed points, 
in accordance with God's Word, not in accordance with cus- 
toms and human traditions, where these are opposed to the 
Gospel, 6zc. Wholly to refuse the council is not advisable, 
for we have hitherto always appealed to the council, and 
there is not as yet any sufficient cause for such refusal. In 
the third place, if our princes are not summoned as the other 
estates, but only cited as a party, it must be inquired whether 
the citation proceeds from the pope or from the council, and 
how it is worded. If the princes on our si le are cited ad res- 
pondendum, that is : for the purpose of showing ground for 
their doctrines and the alterations they have made in the 
Church, the citation, whether now it be submitted by the 
legate or by any other person, can be received with the pro- 
test, nevertheless that we have appealed to a free christian 
council. Nor is this a sufficient cause for refusal, that the 
citation proceeds from the pope, since the pope cites not be- 
fore himself, but as president before the council. But if the 
citation declares that the affairs are not to be investigated, 
and that we are to be heard only for the purpose of being de- 
clared heretics, there would be just ground for complaint, and 
cause for rejecting the citation, nor" could the emperor in this 
case suffer force to be employed. 

In a later opinion concerning this matter, the theologians 
submitted their views also with reference to resistance to 
power. The Gospel, they said, gave instruction concerning 
the spiritual and eternal kingdom in the heart, and did not 
oppose outward bodily government, but confirmed it, where- 
fore it also allowed all natural and proper protection and de- 
ftmue, whicn natural right or other bodily government airord- 
ed. That the question here was not concerning preachers, 
they being appointed to teach, and not to wield the sword, but 
the question was concerning temporal government. That it 
was the duty of every prince here to protect Christians and 
outward religious services in opposition to all unjust power, 
as was his duty too in other temporal matters. That this was 
true of every government in opposition to any other t^ual 
government or private person ; but the question now was, 
how it behooved a prince to act towards his lord the emperor 
in such a case? The answer was the same: Because the 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 



500 



Gospel confirmed the temporal government, every christian 
prince was to demean himself towards his lord, the emperor, 
according to natural and temporal government and order. 
That if the emperor was not judge, and yet attempted to in- 
flict punishment, as long as the appeal was still pending, such 
a violent proceeding would be notorious injustice, and it would 
be allowable, according to the natural order of government, 
to resist it, and to take defensive measures against it. That 
accordingly, if the emperor should, previously to the council, 
whilst the appeal was still pending, take any violent step in 
matters which pertain to religion, and really and obviously 
violate the promised peace, he would have to be looked upon 
as a private person, and such injustice, committed in opposi- 
tion to the appeal and the promised peace, would be notorious 
injustice. So likewise if the council should institute unjust 
proceedings in opposition to natural equity, and the order en- 
joined in the Scriptures, even if they should pretend the au- 
thority of their canonical law for it, such proceedings would, 
nevertheless, be null and void, . and no council; the appeal 
would likewise remain in force, and whatever violence might 
be committed on the authority of such proceedings, would 
also in truth and reality be public violence and notorious in- 
justice. 

On the 11th December, 1536, the elector issued the com- 
mand to Luther and the other theologians, once more to take 
the a tides of faith into consideration, and as the convention 
at Schmalkalden was soon to be held, distinctly to state their 
opinion before the 25th January, as to what, and how far it 
was possible, and whether there was a disposition to yield to 
the papists, and upon what it was intended finally and 
abidingly to insist. Luther drew up the articles himself, and 
appointed the day of the Innocent Children (the 28th Decem- 
ber), or the following days, for Amsdorf, Agricola, and Spala- 
tin to meet him, since it was too far for Justus Menius and 
Frederick Myconius. To these (and the Wittenberg theolo- 
gians), he proposed the articles, and because of the weakness 
which befell him, treated with them for several days concern- 
ing them, whilst he had hoped to spend only one day for the 
purpose. After ihey had confirmed them by their signatures, 
he, through his dear brother and good friend Spalatin, trans- 
mitted them to the elector, with the prayer : " Because some 
odiously speak of us, as if we priests (as they call us) were 



510 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



resolved by our obstinate course to involve even the princes 
and lords, with their dominions and people, in danger, &c. ; 
we pray your electoral grace graciously to advise us of your 
views with regard to this matter ; for if it should involve 
olhers who are inferior, not to say your electoral grace your- 
self, together with the dominions and people of other lords, in 
danger, we would much rather take all upon ourselves. 
Therefore your electoral grace will well know how far to ac- 
cede to these articles, for we do not herewith wish to burthen 
any one else with them, it being left optional with every one, 
to burthen or not to burthen himself with them as he deems 
proper." 

These (Schmalkald) articles consist of three parts ; the first 
part treats of " the exalted articles of the Divine Majesty" of 
which it is said : " With regard to these articles, there is no 
strife or dispute, they being received and confessed by both 
•sides. Wherefore it is not necessary to treat further of them 
at present." The second part treats of the articles which re- 
gard (i the office and work of Jesus Christ, or our saltation" 
Here, it is said, the first or chief article is, that Jesus Christ, 
our God and Lord, has died for our sins and risen for our jus- 
tification, and that he alone is the Lamb of God that taketh 
away the sins of the world ; that we are all sinners, and are 
justified out of grace, without merit, through the redemption 
of Jesus Christ in his blood, so that man is justified without 
the deeds of the law, through faith. "From this article," he 
says, " we cannot depart or swerve, and if the heavens and 
the earth, and everything else, should crumble into pieces, for 
there is no other name given us whereby we can be saved, 
says St. Peter, Acts iv. And through his stripes we are heal- 
ed, Isaiah liii. And upon this article we base all our doc- 
trines and lives, in opposition to the pope, the devil, and the 
world. Therefore we must be fully assured of it, and not 
doubt ; otherwise all is lost, and the pope, the devil, and 
everything else will prevail against us." The succeeding 
three articles then treat of the mass, and what has flowed 
from it, of convents and cloisters, and of th,e pope and his au- 
thority. Here Luther says, that even if the pope — what he, 
however, never could do — should admit that his superiority 
was not based upon divine right, but that he was chosen su- 
perior by men who could depose him at pleasure, and substi- 
tute another in his stead, for the sake of better preserving the 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



511 



union of Christendom, in opposition to heretics and fanatics, it 
would still be of no advantage to Christendom, and the num- 
ber of divisions would only increase. iS For," says he, in ad- 
dition, " as such superior could not appeal to the command of 
God for subjection to him, but only to the good will of men, 
he would very easily and speedily be disregarded and despised, 
and at last have no subjects. Neither would he always be 
at Rome, or any other fixed place, but in whatever church 
God had placed a man qualified for the station. And truly 
that would be an extensive and perplexing business. The 
Church can therefore never be better governed and maintain- 
ed, than by our all living under one head, Christ, the bishops 
being all equal as to office (although unequal as to talents), 
and diligent in preserving unity in doctrine, faith, the sacra- 
ments, prayer, and works of love, &c, as St. Jerome says, 
that the priests at Alexandria ruled the Church in common, 
which the apostles had also done, and which after them all 
the bishops throughout Christendom did, till the pope raised 
his head above the rest." At the close of this part, Luther 
says : " In these four articles they will have enough to con- 
demn at the council, for they cannot and will not except the 
least member of a single one of these articles. For this we 
must be prepared, and console ourselves with the hope, that 
Christ our Lord has assailed his adversaries, and will pursue 
them both with his spirit and future events. Amen. For at 
the council we shall not, as at Augsburg, stand before the em- 
peror, or temporal authority, who published a very gracious 
summons, and caused matters to be investigated in kindness, 
but we shall stand before the pope and the devil himself, who 
does not intend to listen, but only to condemn, to murder, and 
force us into idolatry. Therefore we dare not here kiss his 
feet, or say : You are my gracious lord ! but like the angel in 
Zechariah said to the devil : God rebuke thee, Satan ! 

As to the articles of the third part, Luther said : " Concern- 
ing the following points or articles, we may treat with learn- 
ed, sensible men, or among ourselves. The pope and his king- 
dom do not trouble themselves much about them. For con- 
science is a trifling matter with them. The things which they 
esteem are gold, honour and power." These articles treat of 
sin, of the law, of repentance, in connection with which true 
repentance is contrasted with the false repentance of the papists, 
of the Gospel, of baptism, of infant baptism, of the sacrament 



512 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION*. 



of the altar, of the keys, of confession, of excommunication, 
of ordination and vocation, of the marriage of priests, of the 
Church, of the way in which we become righteous before God. 
and of good works, of monastic vows, of human traditions^ 

The elector, in his answer to Luther, of the 7th January, 
expressed his gratitude to God, that he had enabled him to 
draw up the articles in so Christian, pure, and unadulterated 
a manner, and that his colleagues had given their assent to 
them. That he had read the articles twice, and although only 
a layman, was. nevertheless, firmly convinced that they were 
true, and agreed with the Augsburg Confession, wherefore it 
would not be necessary further to consult with any one con- 
cerning them, but he. the elector, would confess them, be it 
where it might, before the council and before the whole world. 
"As to the jeopardy and danger,'" said he in addition, " in 
which our dominions and people, even as to their persons, 
might be placed, we will commit that to God, He having de- 
clared that the hairs upon our heads are all numbered, and that 
no: one can be lost without his divine permission ; He will also, 
as regard- this danger, direct and control all things according 
to his divine pleasure, for the good of our brother, ourselves 
and our children, as well as of our dominions and people. 
To his guidance we will commit it all, for he has chosen us to 
be a prince ; if it is his will. He can also preserve us in this 
station ; but if it is not his will, no anxiety about the danger 
will be of any avail, for He will direct all as it seemeth good 
to Him. To Him and to the prayers of yourself and of other 
Christians, we will commit this cause/' 

On the 31st January. Luther and his friends, (Alelanchthon 
and Bugenhagen), set out for Schmalkalden. They travelled 
by way or'Grimma and Altenburg, where they were very nobly 
entertained at the electoral castles. Luther had hoped to 
lodge with his old friend Spalatin. and had accordingly ad- 
dressed to him the following lines : 

Lt tua sunt Christo aratissima facta, Gecrgfi, 
Sic sit grata cohors ha?c peregrina tibi, 

Tendim is ad celebrem pro nostro Chalcida coetu, 
Magna Dei cogit causa per istud iter. 

Tu quoque nostrarum pars magna, vir optinie, return, 
Nobiscum venies, duxque comesque via?. 

( As Christ most kindly doth thy deeds receive, 
So now receive this journeying band, O George 



mWN PffiJETOETRICK TIE MAOTANIMffiHTS, 
Elector ©f Saxdumy. 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 



513 



To famous Chalcis now our steps are bent, 
The lofty cause of God our journey's end. 
And thou, O dearest man, in contests tried, 
Shalt tread the road with us as friend and guide.) 

At Weimar Luther preached on the 4th February. The at- 
tendants at the papal Nuncio (Vorstius, Bishop of Aix), who 
was there, were present at the sermon, and heard how he bit- 
terly complained, that the princes and bishops hated the Evan- 
gelical Party worse than the Turks, whom they permitted to 
rave unrebuked. On the 7th, the Wittenbergers arrived at 
Schmalkaiden, and on the day following, the Landgrave and 
the Duke of Wurtemburg held their entry. On the 9th, Lu- 
ther preached before the princes in the capacious parochial 
church, in which, as he observed, his and Spalatin's voice, who 
had preached the day before, sounded like that of a shrew 
mouse. The place and the air agreed with him — as he wrote 
to Dr. Jonas — and at first he enjoyed very good health ; it also 
caused him to rejoice that so many excellent and learned men 
had assembled there, such as, in the opinion of many, there 
would not be found at Mantua, though they might have more 
mules, asses and horses there ; but in another letter to a friend, 
on the 14th, he complained that they had continued there for 
eight days already, all of them weary of the place and their 
stay, and anxious to return home. The princes and rulers, he 
said, treated of other matters than had been expected, and 
without their aid. He, however, prayed Christ to bless their 
proceedings and consultations. 

At Schmalkaiden Luther once more submitted the following 
opinion with regard to the council. He did not doubt but that 
the pope and his adherents dreaded the council and wished 
to see it prevented, but would like to be able to boast, that 
they had not been wanting, as they had summoned it, des- 
patched messengers, and caused the estates to be convoked. 
" Therefore," said he, " in order to terrify and to dismay us, they 
hold up to our view this frightful devil's head, the summons to 
a council, in which they do not say a word of the affairs of 
the Church, of investigation, or of other such matters, but speak 
only of extirpating the poisonous Lutheran heresy, as they 
themselves interpret it in the Bulla de Reformatione Curies." 2 
That the Evangelical Party might accordingly here already 
read the sentence which would be pronounced upon them in 
the council, all appeal, investigation, defence and negotiation 

33 



514 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



being set aside, all pious, honourable men that might have been 
chosen as umpires, rejected the accursed imps of Satan, de- 
signing to proceed according to their pleasure, and not only to 
condemn, but also forthwith to begin to enjoin the execution 
and extirpation, although the Evangelical Party had not been 
heard, their writings not been read, and their doctrines not 
been acknowledged — their books having been everywhere 
prohibited, and only false scribblers and mendacious spirits 
been heard, whilst the bishops and princes in Germany, even 
on their own side, well knew that those were lying books and 
knaves. In evidence of which he states, that the papal ora- 
tor Vergerius had declared at Wittenberg, that he had in many 
respects been very differently informed from what he found 
things. And Dr. Gervasius, the ambassador of the king of 
France, had publicly acknowledged, that his king was fully 
persuaded, that among the Lutherans there existed neither 
marriage, nor government, nor church, nor anything else. 
That the pope and his adherents, because they had so hastily 
credited these disgraceful and impudent falsehoods, were, on 
this very account, in duty bound to give the Lutherans a hearing, 
not to mention the matters which their own party would bring 
up against them, and which of themselves, without Luther's 
affairs, would require a council. That the bull, however, ob- 
served profound silence with regard to all these things. They 
wished merely to terrify the Evangelical Party, and cause 
them to refuse the council, that they might themselves be se- 
cure and cast all reproach upon these. " But," says he, in 
conclusion, " because we have the advantage, that (as the 
times presage) it will be a wretched and despicable council, 
at which few potentates will be present; that excommunica- 
tion, moreover, (if they should resort to it,) has long since ex- 
pired, and the opinion is also now entertained of councils, that 
they can err, and often have erred, which has deprived them 
of their influence and authority, so that it will require a most 
lofty and evident purity to restore* them to their former hon- 
ours; for if this bull should be published and exhibited in its 
true character, what a contemptible and ridiculous council 
would that which it convokes, appear in the eyes of all pious 
and worthy men, presenting a fair specimen of other councils, 
as that of Constance, for instance, &c, the folly of which has 
now also become manifest through the Word of God : where- 
fore I would not fear these hacklers, but suffer them to pro- 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 



515 



eeed, and to exhibit themselves in all their ridiculousness, not 
meeting the legate with a refusal, (which his haughtiness 
would gladly wish,) nor in any way entangling myself; for (if 
God permit) they shall exhibit the great fool as well as the 
little one. Nor is (here any need that we should be in haste 
here, but we are to learn God's way of proceeding, who does 
not haste, but patiently entices forth the tongue, till he has 
driven a wedge which cannot be withdrawn. For if we 
should haste thus unnecessarily, and fish in advance of God's 
net, we might labour in vain. For we must have his assistance: 
for we, with our reason, are much too weak for Satan. It would 
also occasion great scandal, and perhaps even cause many 
well-meaning men to apostatize, if just at this time, in which 
the Turks are at hand, and the emperor in travail, we should 
refuse the council. Although I conceive that the Roman 
knaves (well knowing that this would be the state of affairs 
with regard to the Turks and the French) have appointed the 
council just at this season, in order that, if the Lutherans did 
not prevent it, it might at least be prevented by the Turks 
and the French ; they would, nevertheless, be very glad if they 
could lay the prevention to the charge of the Lutherans. For 
this they would have interpreted as perverseness ; in the for- 
mer case, it would have been called necessity, the Turks hav- 
ing made the holding of it impossible. In short, they cannot 
endure a council, not even of their own men, unless they could 
direct it according to their pleasure. 

From Schmalkalden Luther also (under date of the 17th 
February) wrote to the mayor of Basle, Jacob Meyer, inform- 
ing him of the reception of his and other communications, 
from which he had learned their diligence and earnestness in 
promoting the interests of the Gospel of Christ, and he added 
the wish : ** May the Almighty God further grant his grace, 
that we may all be* united in true Christian union, unfaltering, 
unanimous doctrine and opinion, as St. Paul says, that we are 
all with one heart and one mind to praise God, the Father of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, and that we also forgive and bear with 
one another, as God likewise forgives and bears with us in 
Christ Jesus." *' It was no wonder," he continues, " if perhaps 
there still existed "some suspicion on both sides, since they had 
not in this matter striven against each other in jest or mock- 
ery, but in earnest, the point in dispute not having been an 
indifferent and trifling one ; wherefore it would be necessary 



516 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION ► 



to forget the strokes and the pain, and the more earnestly again 
to seek union. He therefore calls upon him and the rest to 
aid in calming and furthering the matter; that he and his 
friends would not be wanting, there being also an absence of 
all excitement with them, both in the pulpit and among the 
people. "This business," he says, in conclusion, "will not 
adapt itself to us, but we must adapt ourselves to it. Thus 
God, who has begun it, will add his blessing and graciously 
conduct it to a happy issue." 

On this day, Luther, who had suffered from the gravel, so 
that he could not participate in the proceedings, was able 
again, for the first time, to walk out. On the day following, it 
being the Sunday Invocavit, he delivered a sermon on the 
Gospel, in which he, in opposition to the silly papistical fast- 
ing, describes the true Christian fasting, which is mourning 
and sorrowing ; that is, bearing all manner of misfortune, sent 
by God, and painful to man, for God's sake. That Christ had 
likewise fasted in this way, he having gone into the wilder- 
ness, not following his own counsel or choice, but urged by the 
Holy Ghost, That in the person of Christ and his tempta- 
tions, however, was represented, not only what each Christian 
has to suffer for himself, but also what the entire Christian- 
Church has to suffer from Satan. 

If Luther had at first experienced only slight pains, and had 
seemed, after having been perfectly well for two days, to have 
wholly recovered, he, on the above-mentioned Sunday, after- 
he had early in the morning delivered a noble sermon before 
an exceedingly numerous assembly, was seized with such ex- 
cruciating pains, as, according to his own declaration, he had 
never before experienced, so that he also awaited death, and 
said : " Lord God, I die as the enemy of thine enemies, under 
the curse and excommunication of thy enemy, Antichrist, the 
pope, that thy enemy may again die under thy excommunica- 
tion, and we both be judged on that day ; he, indeed, thy ene- 
my, Antichrist, to eternal dishonour and pain ; but I, thy poor 
creature, who have openly confessed thy name and majesty* 
to eternal glory and honour." Not long after, he became 
troubled in spirit, that a good God designed thus to take him 
from this life in a strange country, and on a journey ; he, how- 
ever, finally overcame this sadness and temptation, became 
resigned, and said : "Into thy hands I commit myself, O Lord, 
thou faithful God ; I shall willingly die, when, where, and in 



LABOURS OP THE REFORMATION. 



517 



what manner it seemeth good to thee, my God, for thy will is 
the best." When he had scarcely finished saying this, behold, 
there came the Elector of Saxony, John Frederick, to pay a 
visit to the afflicted Luther, who, in return, received him with 
a benediction. Upon this his electoral grace comforted the 
patient, saying, among other things : "Our dear Lord God will 
have mercy upon us for the sake of his Word and his name, 
and grant you, dear father, further life." Upon this he turned 
himself away, for the tears started into his eyes. Soon, Lu- 
ther called upon the bystanders, as M. Philip Melanchthon, 
George Spalatin and Frederick Myconius, together with lord 
John von Dolzig, by all means diligently to pray against the 
great prince of the world, the devil, as there was no power, 
might or strength so potent as sincere prayer. " Behold," said 
he, " if I die, that beast, the pope's legate, and the bishops, will 
greatly rejoice at my death ; but they shall be sadly deceived 
in their joy, for they will lose their intercessor, who has here- 
tofore diligently interceded for them with God and the world. 
Of this there will be an end then, and distress upon distress 
will come upon them." He further said concerning his illness : 
" Yes, this is the apple of Adam, which is in my body ; I can- 
not consume it ; my Lord Christ, however, has consumed it." 
Upon this he expressly thanked the elector for his gracious 
visit, and for having endured and suffered so much with him 
for the sake of the Gospel, which precious treasure he wished 
now, herewith, further to commend to his electoral grace. To 
this the elector replied : " I fear, beloved Doctor, if God should 
take you away, He would also take his precious Word away." 
" Oh no, my most gracious lord, that is not the design of God," 
said Luther ; " there are many more learned and faithful men, 
who are perfectly sincere and competent, and I trust that God 
will grant them grace to become a wall for the defence and 
maintenance of it : God, the Almighty, grant it ! " and thus 
clasped his hands. But the elector said to the pastors that 
were present : " Dear sirs, see to it, that you preach to us the 
pure Word of God, that we may abide with our dear Lord 
God." Upon this he inquired, whether all the pastors had 
unanimously subscribed? Philip Melanchthon replied, that 
they had all subscribed the Augsburg Confession, and especi- 
ally the article concerning the Holy Supper of the Lord, Blau- 
rerus as well as the rest. The elector being now about to de- 
part, he once more, with many kind words, comforted the af- 



518 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



fiicted Luther, and finally concluded thus: "If, however, it 
should be God's will, which he, however, trusted it was not. 
that He would take him hence, he should not be concerned 
about his wife or children. For your wife," said he, " shall 
be my wife, and your children shall be my children." Some 
time after — nearly an hour after the elector had left — Luther 
again began to speak, and said : I imagined that the air was 
the cause, but I find it is the devil, who takes what he can find 
and torments me with it. St. Stephen was stoned by the 
wicked Jews from without, and I also am stoned by a wicked 
knave, the gravel, from within." Soon after he began to pray 
and to sigh with the friends standing near him, and said : " Oh. 
thou dear Heavenly Father, thy will is still the best, and doeth 
much good in heaven and on earth. If God wishes to keep 
me here, I will willingly live, and still do what I am able ; 
but if He wills it differently, the will of my Father also be 
done ; I wholly submit myself to his merciful dispensation." 
When the gravel afflicted him more intensely, he exclaimed: 
" Is this stimulus carnis, the thorn in the flesh, the club of Sa- 
tan, with which he drives me through the spears and torments 
my flesh ?" As he further expressed his fears that the great- 
ness of the pain might at last rob him of reason, he comforted 
himself, and said : " Behold, if I even grow raving and foolish, 
I, nevertheless, will remain wise to God, and Christ my Lord 
will be my wisdom and my God." He having learned that 
the Christian Church was continually and without ceasing pray- 
ing to God for his restoration, he said : " God has been suffi- 
ciently prayed, entreated and called upon ; if He wishes to hear, 
He can do what seemeth good to Him. It is the gravel, that is 
Satan, and even if God casts me before him, and permits him to 
tear me in pieces, he will nevertheless in return tear him in 
pieces, and my Lord Christ will verily revenge me on him." 

On Dominica Reminiscere Day, Melancthon, while sitting 
and contemplating Dr. Luther very anxiously, began to weep 
bitterly on his account. Luther interrupted him by saying, 
"John Loser is accustomed to exclaim: It requires no skill to 
drink good beer, but to drink bad beer requires skill. Thus 
you may also conceive me now to be learning to practise this 
art with these nauseous medicines And praised be God, I am 
able, even in this death-struggle, and with all my great pains, 
to be of good courage ; for if we have received good at the 
hand of God, shall we not also receive evil ? That does not 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



519 



rhyme, and such people our Lord God can obtain every day. 
Our motto must be, The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away ; 
praised and blessed be the name of the Lord. I verily have 
sufficiently wrestled with the pope and the devil, but have, 
nevertheless, through the power of God, always escaped with- 
out hurt. Even if I must now suffer death, according to the 
will of God, yet is our death, compared with the death of his 
Son, my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, to be accounted nothing. 
Many valiant and pious people have besides been sent before 
us, with whom we are not worthy to dwell ; yet if we desire 
to be with them, as we then certainly do desire, we must die 
with them, and there is no other alternative. Behold, what a 
change has come over me, who was so fresh and healthy yes- 
terday ; to-day all my strength has forsaken me. Yesterday 
I would without difficulty have passed over mountains. But 
how utterly insignificant are we poor men, with all our doings 
and enterprises, even when they are most deserving ! I w r ould 
willingly, by prayer, or rather murmuring, have obtained per- 
mission from our Lord God to die in the dominions of my elec- 
tor, but it has not been so ordained. Therefore, whenever it 
seemeth good unto him, and wherever he calleth me, I am pre- 
pared, and shall die an enemy of the enemies of my Redeemer. 
And though I die under the excommunication of the pope, the 
pope shall in return die under the excommunication of my 
Lord Christ, for ever and ever. Amen !" 

Before his friends took leave of him, the next day, he prayed 
with fervency : " Oh, my dearest Father, thou hast said, Let 
him call upon me, and I will hear him; I am with him in dis- 
tress, I will deliver him and honour him : hear thou my sighs 
and cries, and help me." In the same hour he was greatly 
concerned about the Church, lest God might again take from 
her the dear precious Word of the Holy Gospel, adding, " Did 
we not, under the pernicious papacy, in the temples, at table, 
at the mass, at the matins, read, babble, sing, and bawl out 
the Latin Bible, but what did we understand of it ? Less than 
nothing. If it should again be thus, alas, what a wretched 
state of things would that be ! I trust, however, that the last 
day will come, and prevent it." All these lamentations he ut- 
tered amidst many tears and sighs. " Alas, what contentions 
and brawlings will there be then ! Every one will exalt his 
* own dreams and conceits, and defend them. For it has al- 
ready afforded matter for great laughter at Rome, that there 



520 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



should be people who, from mere simplicity, believed that their 
souls were immortal." He here related the anecdote of two 
learned men, who had disputed a long time concerning the 
question whether the soul of man is immortal. Finally, Pope 
Clement interrupted them, and said to the theologian : You 
have indeed produced good, strong, and substantial arguments ; 
the opinion of the philosopher, however, pleases me better, 
and gives me more courage, for otherwise, if body and soul 
were not to expire at the same time, we would always have 
to be in dread of the future. " Behold ! thus it would con- 
stantly have grown worse ; but may God, in mercy, for Christ's 
sake, preserve us from this. Amen." 

When the strangury had continued for eight days, and would 
not yield to any remedies, Luther, despairing of life, desired to 
he conveyed away from Schmalkalden. Although he was 
very weak, they nevertheless complied with his wish, and the 
physician, Dr. Sturz, for whom Melanchthon, at Luther's desire, 
had written to Erfurt, was himself not opposed to it, because 
at Schmalkalden, where there was no apothecary, he was 
without the necessary remedies. On the 26th February he 
accordingly departed, being accompanied by Bugenhagen, 
Spalatin, (Myconius,) and Dr. Sturz, and the elector caused a 
wagon to be filled with warming utensils and other instruments, 
to follow after, that if it should be necessary they might be 
able to warm him on the way. On the road, however, the 
gravel became so exceedingly excruciating, that he exclaimed, 
" If there only were some Turk here to slay me, as I must at 
any rate, with a strong healthy body, perish in this distress ; 
and indeed I would die willingly, if the devil's legate were not 
there at Schmalkalden, and to herald it forth to the world, that 
I had died from great fear and terror." 

When he the same day arrived at Tambach, God graciously 
gave his blessing to the remedies and the exercise, and re- 
garded the sighs and the tears of the pious ; during the night 
the passages became opened to the patient, so that after he 
had for eleven whole days endured the most excruciating 
pain, he was delivered from his distress and burthen ; as he 
also the same night wrote to M. Philip concerning it: "To 
my most beloved Magister Philip Melanchthon. Praised be 
God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of 
mercy, and all consolation, my dearest Philip, for this night, 
about the second hour, he mercifully regarded your prayers 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION 



521 



and tears, and quite unexpectedly opened to me the urinary 
passages, on my arising for the purpose of making futile at- 
tempts. Scarcely has a quarter of an hour passed, and some 
eight times already has the urine passed from me, and every 
time more than a pint, so that I have passed more than a gal- 
lon. Thus does joy urge me to observe even the quantity of 
this despicable water, which is now so precious to me. 
Therefore I did not wish longer to leave you in uncertainty. 
I pray you to state all this to my most beloved and gracious 
lord, and all the rest. For 1 have fully experienced, how very 
anxiously they desired to help me. Let whatever God may 
dispense, come to me, for life or for death, I am still prepared, 
because I not only have come forth from the shaft to firmer 
ground, but also have obtained grace again to arrive at the 
silver source. For it follows up without cessation, so that I 
have also written this letter, albeit in great haste, mutatis 
vicibus urinandi et scribendi. Ochlopectes, the joyful messen- 
ger, who would not be persuaded from hastening to you, will 
verbally give you further particulars. Do you join with me 
in returning thanks to the Father of grace and all blessings, 
that a most gracious God may complete his work. Yes, from 
this instance, we can learn to pray, and can venture to hope 
for help from Heaven. May God preserve you all, and trample 
under your feet Satan, with his disciples, the monsters of the 
Roman court. Amen. Towards half past two o'clock at 
night, 1537, from Tambach, the place where the Lord has 
blessed me ; for here is my Phanuel, where the Lord has ap- 
peared unto me ! " When the messenger arrived at Schmalkal- 
den early in the morning, and passed by the lodgings of the car- 
dinal, he exclaimed with a loud voice : " Vivit Lutherus, 
vivit Lutherus ! Praise and thanks to God, Luther lives, is 
perfectly well !" and reporting this joyful news to the elector, 
John Frederick, the latter presented him with ten new 
" Schaugroschen" by way of reward. 

To his wife he wrote from Gotha : " Grace and peace in 
Christ. You may meanwhile hire special horses for your 
need, dear Kate, for my gracious lord will retain your horses, 
and return them with M. Philip. For I myself set out from 
Schmalkalden yesterday, and drove hither in the coach of my 
gracious lord. The reason being, that I have not been in 
health here for more than three days, and from the first Sun- 
day up to this night, have not passed a drop of water having 



5-22 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



neither rested nor slept, nor been able to retain any food or 
drink. In short, I was sick unto death, and committed you 
and the children to God. and to my kind lord, expecting never 
to see you again, being very much distressed on your account, 
and yielding myself up to the grave. Now they have prayed 
so earnestly for me to God, and the tears of so many people 
have prevailed, so that God, during this night, opened to me 
the urinary passages, and in two hours I have passed some- 
thing like a gallon, and I now feel as if I had been born anew. 
Therefore return thanks to God, and let the dear children, 
with aunt Lehne, return thanks to the true Father ; for you 
would certainly have lost this father. The pious prince 
caused men to run and to ride in every direction, to provide 
means and help, doing all in his power to afford me relief ; 
but all proved in vain. Your prescription with regard to the 
manure, did not help me. God has wrought wonders in me, 
this night, and still works them, through the intercession of 
pious men. I write this to you, because I presume, my gra- 
cious lord has directed the bailiff to send you to meet me, that 
if I should die on the road, you might perhaps yet be able to 
speak with me, or see me, which is not necessary now, and 
you may as well remain at home, because God has so abun- 
dantly helped me, that I trust to come to you in health. To- 
day we are at Gotha. I have written four times before, and 
am surprised that you have not received any thing. Tuesday 
after Reminiscere, 1537." 

In the night of the following day, nearly all bodily strength 
departed from Luther, and he did not expect to live to the 
next day. Dr. Pomeranus being alone with him now, for he did 
not wish to have any one else with him, he said: " Praised be 
God, I know that I have done right in storming the papacy 
with the Word of God, for it is blasphemy against God, Christ, 
and the Gospel." Then he desired him to request his good 
friends, Justus Jonas, Philip Melanchthon, Cruciger and others, 
to forgive him, if he had sinned against them. "Do you also 
greet my Kate," said he ; " and admonish her from me in pa- 
tience to bear my final departure, and to remember that she 
has lived with me for twelve years in peace and joy. She 
has truly, as a pious wife, not only faithfully nursed and at- 
tended to me, but also served me as a maid ; God reward her 
for it, on that day, and do you also help to provide for her and 
my children as it becomes and behooves you. Do you also 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



523 



greet the ministers of the Divine Word from me, besides the 
pious citizens of Wittenberg, who have often served me." 
And, finally, he said : " Do you also, in my name, greet our 
noble elector, and my gracious lord, the landgrave, and tell 
them, that they should not suffer this and the like clamours to 
terrify or to dismay them : they do not purloin the property of 
churches, as the other princes do, and permit the true religion 
to fall into disrepute. For when church property lies useless, 
no one has a better right to dispose of it, and lay claim to it, 
than the sovereign ; certainly not those beggarly knaves, the 
papists. Do you therefore exhort them in my name, con- 
fidently to do in the name of God what they are doing, and 
what the Spirit of God directs them to do. I will nevertheless 
not have them hemmed in by prescriptions. But may a mer- 
ciful and mighty God preserve them, that they may abide in 
the truth once known and confessed, and be eternally grateful 
to him for having delivered them from the kingdom of Anti- 
christ. I have earnestly interceded for them with my merciful 
God, and hope confidently that he will preserve them from 
ever regarding the accursed papacy. And though there are 
among them many that are frail, and not clean and pure in all 
respects, on which account the adversaries also find fault with 
them, they are nevertheless to confide in the mercy of God, 
who can render them unblameable. Contrasted with this, the 
ungodly life, blasphemy and sodomy of Antichrist, surpass all 
these defects, like a boundless ocean, from which, by the grace 
of God, we have been delivered. Therefore be strong in the 
Lord and the power of his might, and fearlessly proceed. I 
indeed am now prepared to die, if this is the will of my Sa- 
viour, Christ Jesus; I would nevertheless wish to live till 
Whitsuntide, that I might more severely in print, before the 
whole world, assail the Roman beast, the pope and his realm, 
which I verily shall do, if God spares my life, and no devil shall 
prevent me. But if I die, there certainly will be others after 
me, who will not forget him. And now I commit my soul into 
the faithful protection of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, whom I 
have preached and confessed before the world. Amen." 

Thursday after Reminiscere, (the 1st March,) Luther again 
confessed to Dr. Pomeranus, at Gotha, and received the ab- 
solution. When the day dawned, he said, " Yesterday I laid 
myself down, supposing that I should be a corpse to-day, but 
God has not yet willed it thus. Behold, Father, thy will be 



524 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



done." Friday and Saturday he treated with Dr. Frederick 
Myconius concerning his burial, at Gotha, and thanked God 
that he should die and be interred there. But Pomeranus re- 
plied : That he trusted to God, that he would recover ; that he 
would also cause him to be interred in the castle-church at 
Wittenberg, from which the streams of life had flowed out into 
all the world. 

Bucer and Lykosthenes, (Wolf hart,) who, not having been 
able at Schmalkalden, in consequence of his weakness, to see 
Luther, for the purpose of further consulting with him in re- 
ference to the union on account of which they had come, had 
followed him on his journey, and found him at Gotha, where 
he also, although still weak, sent for them to come to him, 
hearing them, and returning them a friendly answer. This, 
said he to Bucer, would be the best course in the matter, if 
your people would teach the truth and frankly confess ! Dear 
friends, God has suffered us to fall : we have erred, and taught 
false doctrines, let us now grow wiser, be more circumspect, 
and teach the truth. For this cloaking and hiding will cer- 
tainly not avail, neither is it possible, in this way, to quiet our 
own or other men's consciences. For these crooked ways do 
not please God, who will demand of us a rigorous account, es- 
pecially with regard to doctrine. Therefore, we dare not, in 
our office and life, approve of anything false, as authorized 
by .God and his Word, let it be as glittering, handsome, noble, 
mighty, artificial, crafty, as it ever can be imagined or pro- 
duced. " Exercise yourselves," said he, further — " to teach 
your populous congregations, for which you have to render an 
account to God, not by means of difficult, lofty and obscure 
words, nor foreign questions, but faithfully, clearly, and in the 
simplest manner possible." 

Six stones had passed from Luther at Gotha, one of which 
being nearly the size of a bean. This was succeeded oy great 
prostration. The elector, who had previously enjoined upon 
Dr. Sturz to make a stay of several days with Luther at 
Weimar, and if the latter could, and wished to journey thence 
to Wittenberg, to betake himself thither with him, being in- 
formed by the physician what character Luther's illness had 
now assumed, gave his consent to their remaining at Erfurt, 3 
for a day or two, when they should proceed to Weimar, and 
he once more desired Dr. Sturz to remain with him, and to 
exercise all his skill in the case, or at least to stay with him so 



Published "by H Lndwi§ 8c C? N.Y 



LABOURS OF THE REFORMATION. 



525 



long till the other physicians, whom the elector had caused to 
be ordered, should have arrived., At Altenburg, Luther, with 
Melanchthon, who had followed him, and the rest, took up his 
lodgings with Spalatin, and again addressed to him several 
lines : 

Christus in infirmo venit hie, Spalatine, Luthero, 

Et tua pro requie tecta benigna petit. 
Quidquid huic facies, factum sibi judicat ipse, 

Qui nos membra sui corporis esse docet. 

(In Luther frail and weak, here comes thy Lord, 
And seeks thy kindly roof, O Spalatin. 
The favours Luther shown, thy Saviour owns ; 
Who members of his body deemeth us.) 

On the 13th March, Melanchthon wrote from Grimma, that, 
by the help of God, Luther's strength was gradually returning, 
since he had rested considerably here, and previously taken 
some food, he having also been more serene, and on the day 
previous dictated to him several verses of the 23d Psalm. 4 
On the 14th he returned to Wittenberg with his friends, and 
on the 21st, he could inform Spalatin, that he, by the grace of 
God, was gradually recovering, and again learning to eat and 
to drink, although the thighs and the knees could not yet 
rightly bear the body, he having lost more strength than he 
had imagined. 

Authorities. — Works, vol. 21, p. 143. Corp. Ref. T. II. p. 119, seq. 
126, seq. Seckend. lib. III. p. 126. Preface to the Schmalkald 
Articles. Let No. 1754. The Schmalkald Articles, in all the edi- 
tions of the Works, and in the Symbolical Books. Seckend. p. 151. 
Corp. Ref. T. III. p. 265. Let. No. 1756. Corp. Ref. p. 266. 
Let. 1756 to 60. Corp. Ref. p. 268. Works, vol. 12, p. 441, seq. 
Corp. Ref. p. 296. The original reports concerning Luther's illness, 
especially those by Myconius and Bugenhagen, are collected in the 
rare little work : Kurzer Bericht, wic der, pp. Dr. Lutherus in seiner 
Krankheit zu Schmalkalden, Ao. 1537, sich habe erzeigt und verhalten, 
u. s. w. By M. J. A. Graulius, Leipzig, (1617,) 42 pp. (which Keil, 
vol. 3, p. 88, seq., has copied verbatim.) Mathes. 11. Pred. Corp. Ref 
p. 291, 296, 269, are also used. Let. No. 1762, 63. Works, vol. 21, 
p. 106. Corp. Ref. p. 327. Seckend. lib. III. p. 164. Let. No. 1764. 

Notes 1.) — In the year 1538, Luther published the articles with a 
preface and additions. For further particulars concerning them, and 
for a correct copy of them, see the Author's Treatise : Der Tag zu 
Schmalkalden und die Schmalkaldischen artikel. Eine Reformations 
geschichtliche Denkschrift. Leipzig, 1837. 



526 LABOURS OF TIIE REFORMATION. 

2. ) This had appeared soon after the summons to the council, and is 
found, Works, vol. 16, p. 2322. 

3. ) He felt reluctant to remain at Erfurt, because he did not wholly 
trust those of the electorate' of Mayence. 

4. ) They run thus : 

Ipse Deus pastor meus est, nil deficiet me ; 

Lietis me fecit pascere graminibus, 
Quaeque sitim sedant, ad aquas deduxit amoenas ; 

Hinc redeunt vires artubus atque vigor. 

(My Shepherd, God himself, supplies my wants; 
In pastures green he causeth me to feed ; 
To quickening waters he doth lead me forth, 
And strength returns, and vigour to the joints.) 



PART VI. 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER'S LIFE. 

PROM THE RETURN FROM SCHMALKALDEN TO HIS DEATH. 
From March, 1537, to the 17th February, 1546. 



527 



CONTENTS OF PART VI. 



Although exhausted by labours and sickness, and sensible of the approach of old 
age, Luther, nevertheless, continually requires the vigour of youth, having to enter 
the lists against new enemies of the Divine Word. He is greatly distressed on ac- 
count of the opposition to the law occasioned by Agricola, one of his friends ; but 
neither does he spare this his Absalom, for the Word of his Lord is endangered. On 
the other hand, he experiences the joy to behold how God, through the death of 
Duke George, brings to nought the counsel of the princes against his Gospel ; and 
he is permuted to preach at Leipzig. He continues to labour faithfully ; and espe- 
cially in revising the translation of the Bible, he tasks himself to the utmost. In 
many important affairs is his advice requested. And even though growing old, he 
still fights the battles of the Lord, and wields the sword of the Spirit against the false- 
hoods of the Jews and the Turks, and the errors of the Papists and Sacramentarians. 
But old age comes apace : old friends depart ; in Magdalena he loses a member of 
his own family by death ; and Wittenberg, for a time, wholly disgusts him. There 
is an end of his stay here below. A work of peace forms the last labour of the aged 
combatant ; and in his native city, Eisleben, he is overtaken by death. He now 
commends his soul to the Lord, and dies confessing the doctrines which he has 
preached. Amidst many tears his body is interred in the castle church at Witten- 
berg. 



CHRONOLOGICAL SYNOPSIS. 



1538. January 12. Luther Disputes against Agricola, ... 

1539. May 25. Preaches at Leipzig, .... 

1540. Revises the Translation of the Bible, 

1541. April (?). Treatise against Jack Cade, - 

1542. December. Treatise against the Jews and their falsehoods, 

1544. Spring. Shorter Confession concerning the Lord's Supper 

1545. Spring. Treatise: The Papacy at Rome instituted by the 

Devil, 

1545. End of July. Luther resolves to leave Wittenberg forever, 

1546. February 18. dies at Eisleben, - 



Chap. 



528 



CHAPTER I. 



THE ANTINOMIANS. 1537 AND '38. 

After Luther had recovered from the illness which had be- 
fallen him at Schmalkalden, the report was circulated among 
the papists that Luther had died. A messenger accordingly 
came to him from Halle, in the Innthal, and informed him that 
it was commonly reported in Italy, to the great joy of the pa- 
pists, that Dr. Martin Luther had died, and that his epitaph 
had been written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek characters ; 
which clamour having greatly terrified many pious hearts, 
they had prayed him to bring them a copy of that same epi- 
taph. " But because I now find your reverence alive, I pray you 
graciously to give me a writing concerning your grave, that I 
may be able to comfort those pious people who have troubled 
themselves." At this the Doctor laughed, saying, " That is a 
strange request for a writing. Why I have never in my life 
written any concerning my burial." Finally, he wrote thus 
for him : " I, Doctor Martin Luther, confess by this, my hand- 
writing, that I do not at all agree with the devil, the pope, or 
any of my enemies, for they would like to be able to rejoice at 
my death, and I would most cordially wish them such joy, and 
would willingly have died at Schmalkalden ; but God has not 
yet wished to confirm such joy. He will, however, confirm it 
before they imagine, though not for their weal, and they will one 
day sing, Oh, if Luther were now alive ! That is the copy 
from my grave, in German, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew." 

In the year 1537, Luther, who enjoyed very good health, 
faithfully supplied Bugenhagen's place, 1 who had gone to 
Copenhagen. He and Melanchthon, as Jonas was also absent, 
were so overwhelmed with business and affairs, that he 5 in the 
spring of 1538, complained of not being able, as an aged man, 
unfit for service, to enjoy the quiet of old age, and in the gar- 
dens to contemplate the marvellous works of God in the trees, 
flowers, herbs, birds, &c, which quiet he would have deemed 
justly owing to him, if he had not by former sins deserved to 
lose it through burthensome and often useless engagements. 
But though old, exhausted, and weary from so many labours, he 

34 529 



530 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHEr's LIFE. 



nevertheless— as he wrote on another occasion — continually 
again became young, that is, there continually rose up new 
sects against him, to resist which it required a second youth. 
But he comforted himself, saying, " If there were no other evi- 
dence that we are called and chosen for the kingdom of heaven, 
and have the true Word of God, this one would be sufficient, 
that we are assailed by so many sects, which are continually 
arising anew, some even from among ourselves, 2 not to speak 
of the papists, of the personal contests in which we are in- 
volved with Satan, or of the contempt for the Word of God 
among us. But we are no better than the apostles and pro- 
phets, or our Lord himself." 

Particularly was Luther distressed on account of the error 
in reference to the law, occasioned by Agricola. Mathesius tes- 
tifies of the anxious sighs and mournful lamentations which 
he had witnessed of him in this matter, which caused him to 
experience such unfaithfulness and shameful knavery in his 
dear friend, to whom, on his setting out for Schmalkalden, he 
had confided his church, school, wife, children, and house, as 
to his most familiar and most intimate friend. " But," he said, 
I also need a teacher and instructor to explain to me that 
verse in the 41st Psalm, He that eateth my bread Ufteth up his 
heel against me" As far as I myself am concerned, I would in- 
deed willingly be silent and forget," he often said, with fervent 
tears, " but that he should fall off from the acknowledged truth, 
and knowingly and wickedly strive against it, alas, most mer- 
ciful and eternal God, that I must behold my dearest friend 
tormented in hell-fire !" 

Agricola had, in the year 1536, requested of his lord, the 
count of Mansfeld, a dismissal from his office at Eisleben, 
having at the same time complained that the treatment shown 
him had not been very friendly, and that what had been pro- 
mised him, had not been performed ; the count, on the other 
hand, had accused him not only of ingratitude, but also of 
avarice, of negligence in the office committed to him, and of 
being addicted to the use of intoxicating drinks, as well as of 
having preached more against the Evangelical Party than 
against the papists. He betook himself to Wittenberg, and 
there obtained permission from the university to lecture ; it is 
also certain that he received a salary from* the elector. But 
he began again to spread abroad his former views, 3 and 
taught that the law should be banished from the church to the 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER's LIFE. 



531 



council-house, arid that the people were to be enticed to true 
repentance and a knowledge of their sins, wholly through the 
preaching of Christ crucified. He for this purpose, albeit 
only secretly and among a small number, circulated several 
theses, but also began to publish a number of sermons, in 
which he sufficiently betrayed himself. Luther reproved him 
in a learned and instructive sermon which he published, 
caused the printing of the Postil to be interrupted, and when 
Agricola, being questioned by him concerning the theses which 
he had drawn up, began to disown them, he declared, that 
he would have them publicly discussed, and append his con- 
demnation to them. Agricola, indeed, at the instance of 
Melanchthon, prayed Luther not to publish the theses, saying 
that he did not acknowledge them, and that he would obey 
Luther in every thing that he desired ; but they were already 
printed. To others Agricola expressed himself differently con- 
cerning his theses, saying, that several were by him, but that 
he had formerly once, merely as a pupil, given them to Luther, 
and prayed him to fix something definite concerning them for 
the future^ since he himself employed a twofold method of 
teaching repentance, sometimes merely from the Gospel, some- 
times from the Law and the Gospel. This he accordingly also 
once more wrote to Luther ; the latter, however, became so 
much the more provoked at him, because it seemed as if he 
meant by this to represent their doctrine as uncertain. 

In the preface to the (irregularly held six) disputations 
against the Antinomians, or_ opposers of the Law, Luthei 
says : that he had met with several theses, the author oi 
which, without publicly acknowledging them, called them 
Positiones inter fratres sparsas. As many now were in- 
fluenced by them, and they were continually spreading far- 
ther, that he might not either be suspected of countenancing 
them by his silence, he had caused them to be published, foi 
the purpose of informing every one disposed to take warning 
that he greatly disapproved of such blasphemous fanaticism, 
as he would evince by the maintenance of irrefragable an- 
tithesis. 

In the positions which are prefixed it is said : "Repentance 
is to be inculcated, not from the ten commandments of God, or 
from any laws of Moses, but from the sufferings and death of 
the Son of God, through the Gospel," in support of which, 
Luke xxiv. 26 and other passages are adduced. 



532 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



Further, it is said that the law is not in any way necessary 
for justification, wherefore it was not necessary to teach the 
law of Moses, either for the beginning, middle or end of the 
justification of man. In order that the Christian doctrine 
might therefore be preserved in its purity, those would have 
to be resisted, who teach that the Gospel ought not to be pro- 
claimed, except alone to those whose hearts have previously 
been alarmed and rendered contrite through the law. That 
those who maintained the necessity of first teaching the law, 
and then the Gospel, did violence to the words of Christ. But 
just as it was necessary firmly to cleave to the simple sense 
of the words, This is my body, so it was also necessary to insist 
upon the simple meaning of the words, Go, preach the Gospel 
and baptize them, &c. That the law only reproved sin, and 
did so without the Holy Ghost, wherefore its reproofs tended 
to damnation. That there, however, was needed a doctrine, 
which not only with great power condemned, but likewise at 
the same time saved, this doctrine being the Gospel. Upon 
this several passages are cited from some of Luther's and Me- 
lanchthon's writings, concerning which it is said, that they do 
not harmonize with one another, since, in one passage, the 
doctrine of justification was taught rightly, in the other, false- 
ly. Finally, there follow some other articles, in which it is 
said, among other things : " The law does not deserve to be 
called the Word of God." " Art thou a harlot, a knave, an 
adulterer, or a sinner in any other respect, if thou belie vest, 
thou art in the way of salvation." " The decalogue, or ten 
commandments, have their fit place in the council-house, not 
in the pulpit." " All that deal with Moses must perish. To 
the gibbet with Moses ! " 

In opposition to this, Luther shows in the first disputation, 
that repentance, according to the true and certain testimony 
of the ancient teachers, is sorrow or terror on account of sin, 
with the resolution to do better. That this sorrow or terror 
properly is, and cannot be anything else but the feeling of the 
law, which touches the heart or conscience : this first part of 
repentance, accordingly, proceeding only from the law ; that 
the other part, however, or the resolution to do better, cannot 
proceed from the law, since man, terrified by the law, cannot 
of himself resolve to do anything good, but, being overpower- 
ed by sin, falls into despair and hatred against God, and thus 
perishes ; wherefore, the Gospel, or the promise concerning 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER S LIFE. 



533 



Christ, must soon follow the law, in order that the terrified 
conscience may be pacified and consoled, and man be able to 
form a good resolution. That repentance which is produced 
by the law, is only half a repentance, as the beginning of re- 
pentance ; and if it proceeds no further, becomes a repentance 
like that of Cain, Saul or Judas. That the scholastics had 
taken the true definition of repentance from the ancient 
teachers, but had not understood or been able to teach to 
others the parts of the definition, namely, sorrow, sin and reso- 
lution, because they had not read the Bible, and had not un- 
derstood what the Law or the Gospel was ; having been so 
wholly absorbed in human statutes and traditions, that they 
had judged of holy and divine things as in a dream. That if 
the Gospel now, in opposition to this doctrine of the sophists, 
which perplexed the conscience and led into doubt, taught 
the penitent not only to tremble and to despair, but also to 
conceive hope, and thus from love to God, to hate sin, this be- 
ing a truly good resolution. Some, at the present time, who 
did not consider the true ground of the doctrine, understood 
this as being spoken against the law of God, and falsely and 
perniciously taught that the law of God should be wholly 
abolished from the Church ; of such shocking blasphemy and 
robbery of divine honour and truth were they guilty. He 
then shows from many passages of Holy Writ, that repentance 
is to begin with the law, this also being sufficiently demon- 
strated by the order of the whole subject itself, and by expe- 
rience. 

In the second disputation, Luther represents how the law is 
not only unnecessary, as far as the justification of man is con- 
cerned, but wholly useless and altogether impotent ; that the 
article of justification, accordingly, must be based upon noth- 
ing else than the promise of the grace shown us in Christ ; that 
it, however, does not follow from this, that the law is to be 
abolished and to be banished from the churches and the pulpits. 
That on this very account, it is much rather necessary dili- 
gently to teach and to inculcate that it is not only unnecessa- 
ry but also impotent in affording righteousness, in order that 
man, who is proud, and relies upon his own powers and abili- 
ty, may thus learn that he cannot be justified through the law. 
That nothing but the law teaches whence sin and death come, 
from which it was evident, how useful and necessary the law 
is. That everything, however, which points out sin, wrath, or 



534 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER's LIFE. 



death, exercises the office of the law, whether it be in the Old 
or in the New Testament. That without law — written or 
natural law — there is no sin, and no sin is understood ; but 
that if, on abolishing the law, there is no sin, then there is no 
Christ who delivers from sin. That Christ, however, had come 
not to abolish the law, but to fulfil it: if, accordingly, there were 
no law to be fulfilled in us, he verily would have come in vain. 
From this he then draws the conclusion : " That through 
these, his instruments, Satan indeed treats of sin, repentance 
and Christ, but merely in words, and in reality takes or rather 
tears away Christ, repentance, sin, and all the Scriptures, yea, 
even the Author of the Scriptures, God himself, designing to 
occasion the most pernicious security, contempt for God, unre- 
buked malice, and eternal impenitence, more than Epicurus 
himself. This is evident from the declaration, in which they 
pretend that the law rebukes sin without the Holy Ghost, and 
only to condemnation. Here it appears that they wish us to 
teach of such a sin, which does not condemn, yea, which per- 
haps even saves without Christ." Having fully explained 
this, he adds : "It is also utterly false, that the. law rebukes 
sin without the Holy Ghost, whilst the law, nevertheless, is 
written by the finger of God ; and all truth, wherever it is 
found, proceeds from the Holy Ghost, and to prohibit the law 
is to prohibit the truth of God." Finally, he concludes this 
disputation with the words : "All their doctrine (of the Anti- 
nomians) concerning sin, repentance, Christ, and forgiveness 
of sin, is mere filth, and foul, diabolical falsehood. For, as 
the law was before Christ, and accused us, but under Christ was 
silenced and pacified through the forgiveness of sin, and is 
now henceforth to be fulfilled through the Spirit, so it will, af- 
ter Christ, remain fulfilled, when the creature, as the law 
meanwhile demands, will have become wholly new. There- 
fore, the law will never be abolished, but will forever remain 
either to be fulfilled in the wicked, or fulfilled in those that are 
saved. But these disciples of Satan, it seems, conceive that 
the law was given only for a time, and was abolished after 
the advent of Christ, as was circumcision. 

In the third disputation, Luther says, concerning the repent- 
ance of the papists, Turks, Jews, all unbelievers and hypo- 
crites, that it is partial and evanescent, being sorry for some 
sins only, and continues but for a time. That the repentance, 
however, of those that believe on Christ, is directed not only to 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



535 



particular sins, but is general and eternal ; that is, it continues 
throughout life, till death. That all works, after justification, 
accordingly, are nothing else but a continual repentance, or a 
good resolution against sin, there being nothing else to be done 
than that sin, pointed out by the law, and forgiven in Christ, 
be henceforth purged out. He further shows how the Lord's 
Prayer, prescribedjw the Lord himself to his saints and be- 
lievers, is a part of repentance, and an instruction, in which 
much of the law is embraced ; so that the enemies of the law 
would also have to banish the Lord's Prayer from the churches, 
if they would not endure the law in them, and even the great- 
er part of the sermons of our Lord Christ, who (Matt, v.) not 
only repeats the law, but also, as the true teacher, explains it. 
Finally, he says, that even if sin could be learned through 
anything else besides the law, which was impossible, this 
would still be no ground for the rejection of the law. And 
though it were possible to banish the written law, who would 
tear from the conscience the living law, which is written in 
the heart, and is a writing against us which cannot be oblit- 
erated ? 

In the fourth disputation Luther warns his hearers against 
the papistical doctrine on repentance, as against hell and Sa- 
tan himself; but still more, says he, is it necessary to beware 
of those who will not leave any repentance in the church as 
was done by those who refused to have the law taught. Upon 
this he refutes their argument, that nothing was to be taught 
which was not necessary to justification. He further shows, 
that favour and forgiveness of sin do not render men secure 
against sin, death and the law, as if these no longer existed 
now, but rather make them diligent and careful daily to over- 
come sin, death and the law, through Christ their Saviour ; 
and concludes : " In short, the law is not useful or necessary 
to justification or any good work, much less to salvation ; on 
the contrary : justification, good works and salvation are ne- 
cessary to the fulfilment of the law. For Christ came to seek 
and to save that which was lost, and to restore all things, as St. 
Peter says, Acts iii. ; wherefore the law is not abolished through 
Christ, but re-established, in order that Adam may again be- 
come what he was ; yea, much better." 

In the fifth disputation (held in the year 1539) Luther ad- 
vances the position : " The law rules over a man, as long as he 
lives. Rom. vii. ; but he is delivered from the law when he 



5.36 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER S LIFfi, 



dies : therefore if a man is to be delivered from the law, he 
must die. But if the law rules over a man as long as he 
lives, then also does sin rule over him as long as he lives. 
Therefore a man must necessarily die, if he is to be delivered 
from sin. For the power of sin is the law ; but the sting 
of death is sin. 1. Cor. xv. These three, the law, sin and 
death, cannot be separated." From this he then concludes, 
that those who attempt to banish the law from the Church, must 
also at the same time banish sin and death, since death and 
sin originate from the law. Wherefore they should first de- 
monstrate that the righteous are wholly free from sin and 
death. As they however could not do that, and experience 
demonstrated the opposite, it was madness in them to wish 
that we should free even the ungodly from the law and not 
preach it to them. For if it was necessary to hold up their sin 
and death, that is, the law, to holy and righteous man, for 
whom it was not given ; was it not much more necessary to 
hold up the law to the ungodly and wicked, for whom it was 
properly and especially given ? He further elucidates this 
thus : " In Christ, raised from the dead, there certainly is neither 
sin nor death, oorlaw, to which he was nevertheless subjected 
during life ; but our Lord Christ is not yet fully risen in his 
saints, yea, he begins in them as first fruits to rise from the 
dead. In the ungodly, however, who are mingled with the 
pious in the Church, and whose number exceeds that of the 
pious, he is yet wholly dead, or rather he is not in them at «all. 
They are wholly under the law, and must be terrified through 
the law, and if it were possible, with bolts of physical thun- 
der. As far, therefore, as Christ is risen in us, so far we are 
without law, sin and death. But as far as he is not yet risen 
in us, so far we are and remain under the law, sin and death : 
Therefore the law (as well as the Gospel) must be preached, 
without distinction, both to the righteous or believers and the 
ungodly : to the ungodly, that they may be terrified by it, 
learning to see their sins, death, and the inevitable wrath of 
God, which humbles them. To the pious, that they may be 
reminded by it how they are to crucify and mortify their flesh, 
together with their lusts and vices, that they may not become 
secure ; for security takes away both faith and piety, and 
causes the latter case to be worse than the first." He then 
shows that the error of the Antinomians consists in their 
dreaming that sin is taken away through Christ as to its sub- 



the last years of luther's life. 



537 



stance, they not understanding, that it is taken away only in 
such a manner, that God does not impute it to men. He fur- 
ther speaks of the fourfold way and manner of preaching and 
instructing men concerning salvation, in accordance with 'the 
four works of God, God terrifying with threatenings, comfort- 
ing with promises, exhorting by means of tribulation, alluring 
and enticing through benefits, and shows that these four parts do 
not abolish the law, but establish and confirm it. Finally, he 
concludes with the positions : " In short, to abolish the law 
and to suffer sin and death to remain, is nothing else than 
hiding and concealing from men the infectious malady 
of sin and death to their eternal destruction. When death 
and sin are abolished and taken away, as Christ has abolished 
and taken them away, then may the law be blessedly abolish- 
ed ; yea, then it will be rightly established. Rom. iii. 

In the sixth disputation (held in the year 1 540) Luther, taking 
up the words of St. Paul : Where there is no law, there is no 
transgression, makes the following deductions : Where there 
is no sin, there is also no punishment nor forgiveness of sin. 
Where there is neither punishment nor forgiveness, there is no 
wrath or favour. Where there is no wrath or favour, 
there is no divine or human government. Where there 
is neither divine nor human government, there is neither 
God nor man. Where there is neither God nor man, there 
is nothing, except perhaps the devil. And from this he de- 
duces, that these spirits, the enemies and assailants of the 
law, are certainly either devils themselves, or the devil's kins- 
men, and that it is of no avail for them to boast of their teach- 
ing much concerning God, Christ, grace, the law, &c, it being 
no new thing even for devils to abuse the name of God. 

In the second disputation, which was held on the 12th Janu- 
ary, 1538, Luther called upon Agricola to come forth, and ad- 
vance his arguments. The latter confusedly replied, that he 
did not wish to dispute as if he disapproved of the theses, which 
he deemed true and correct, but merely in order to comply 
with the invitation, and this for the purpose, in the first place, 
that he might derive some profit from this friendly exchange 
of opinions ; and in the second place, that he might declare to 
all, in case he had seemed to any not to teach what was right 
concerning the Law and the Gospel, that he nevertheless had 
correct and christian thoughts on these subjects. Upon this 
he advanced two arguments. Luther having very ably and 



538 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHEr's LIFE. 



satisfactorily replied to these, called upon all, thenceforth not 
to entertain any suspicions against Agricola, if any had per- 
haps entertained such, he having now publicly confessed him- 
self of the same mind with them ; himself, however, he earn- 
estly exhorted to preserve faith and fidelity, and not to deal 
secretly or craftily, but honestly and openly. 

Luther also permitted him to preach again, in order to ena- 
ble him publicly to testify to the congregation, that he held the 
truth in this matter ; it was, nevertheless, necessary particu- 
larly to enjoin this upon him at Easter, for up to that time, he 
had not done it. Luther, himself, published a letter to Dr. 
Caspar Gilttel, pastor at Eisleben, under the title : Against the 
Antinomians, in which he says : " That he could justly have 
hoped that he had sufficiently declared and secured himself in 
his disputation ; that Satan, however, was continually again 
mingling him up in the affair, as if he and these spirits were 
not greatly at variance ; and if he had died at Schmalkalden, 
he would forever have had to be the patron of such spirits, 
they having appealed to his books. That he had accordingly 
been constrained to take Magister John Agricola to task, he 
having been the prime-mover and master-spirit in this matter, 
and more than once to state to him all that was to be stated. 
That the same had indeed humbled himself, and promised to 
desist, where he had proceeded too far: but because it had 
continually been boasted, and writings had also come to Wit- 
tenberg, representing that Dr. Martin and Magister Eisleben 
were on good terms, he had found it necessary further to insist 
upon Agricola to publish a revocation, as there was no other 
means to extirpate this poisonous weed at Eisleben, and in the 
regions round about. That the latter had been willing to do 
this, but having feared that he could not just state the matter 
so clearly, had committed it to him. Luther, accordingly, de- 
clares in Agricola's name, that the latter wished to have every- 
thing considered as revoked which he had taught or written 
against the law, and to have it known that he agreed with the 
Wittenbergers and the Augsburg Confession. "I would wil- 
lingly," added he, " praise him for having thus humbled him- 
self; but as it is known how he has been one of my best 
and nearest friends, I will leave this to some one else, that 
the suspicion may not arise in the matter, as if I were not in 
earnest. If he continues in this humility, God can, and no 
doubt will, exalt him ; but if he passes beyond it, God can verily 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER S LIFE. 



539 



also again cast him down." He then prays Dr. Guttel to state 
these particulars to all, as there was no other way of resisting 
Satan. He was surprised, he said, at his being suspected of 
having rejected the law or the ten commandments, whilst he 
daily preached and inculcated them in the Church, and in so 
many ways, that he did not know what should be further done 
in the matter, only that they were not, alas, as yet, practised 
in daily life and conversation as they should be. He had, in- 
deed, taught, and still taught, that sinners were to be allured 
to repentance through the preaching or representation of the 
sufferings of Christ, in order that they might see how great 
the wrath of God is on account of sin, so that no remedy could 
avail against it, except the death of the Son of God. That 
this was not his own doctrine, but what St. Bernard, yea, all 
Christendom, prophets and apostles, taught ; it did not, however, 
follow from this that the law was to be abolished. The Anti- 
nomians, however, seemed to have entertained the view, that 
those who heard preaching were all perfect Christians, without 
sin. That if there were none but sad and distressed hearts, 
who felt their sins and feared God, they ought to be comforted, 
and to them Christ could not be represented in too lovely a 
light. That these spirits, however, were not themselves such 
Christians ; otherwise, neither they nor their hearers would 
have been so secure and bold. That all should, accordingly, 
, continue to allure sinners to repentance, not only by means of 
the abounding grace and suffering of Christ, but also by means 
of the terrors of the law, since we could observe different 
ways of preaching, as the prophets and apostles also had done. 
" But, suppose for a moment," added he, " that I had taught or 
said that the law should not be inculcated in the Church, the 
opposite of which all my writings, nevertheless, testify, as I 
have also from the beginning always inculcated the catechism, 
should they, therefore, so pertinaciously cleave to me, and (not 
much rather) resist me, for in many things I have always 
taught differently, and thus have fallen off from myself, as I 
have done in the doctrines of the pope. For I can in truth 
boast, that no papist at present is such from such conscientious 
and serious motives as I was. For those that are papists now, 
are such not from fear of God, as I, poor wretch, was, but 
from other motives, as is easily seen, and they themselves 
know. I have had to follow St. Peter's advice : Grow in the 
knowledge of the Lord. (2 Pet. iii. 18.) 



510 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEft's LIFE. 



He further observes, that he could well expect to be left un- 
disturbed by his own friends, as he had enough to do with the 
papists, and like many others, might almost exclaim with Job : 
" Would that I had never been born !" so he too might almost 
say, " Would that I had never issued my books !" nor would he 
trouble himself about it if all of them had already perished, 
and the books of such lofty spirits stood arranged in all the 
bookstores, that they might have their anxious wish gratified ; 
that he, however, on the other hand, durst not deem himself 
any better than our dear Lord Jesus Christ, who also com- 
plained : In vain have I laboured and toiled! and for the sake 
of the pious who desired salvation, he was constrained to live, 
to preach, to write, to do and to suffer everything. That if 
devils and false brethren were to be regarded, it would be 
better neither to preach, nor to write, nor to do anything, but 
only soon to die 3 and to be buried. Having then shown how 
pride and presumption had been the cause of this newly-in- 
vented doctrine, he says : " That the history of the Church, 
from the earliest times, demonstrated that when God's Word 
had arisen anywhere, Satan had perceived the light, and had 
employed all his arts to extinguish it. That thus things would 
proceed to the end of time. That he alone had encountered 
some twenty tempests and sects which Satan had raised up." 
Having then enumerated these, he adds : " And if 1 should 
live a hundred years longer, and by the grace of God had 
overcome not only the former and present sects and tempests, 
but would be able also thus to overcome all future ones, I see, 
nevertheless, that I would not by this afford our descendants 
rest, as long as Satan lives and rules. Therefore, I also pray 
God graciously to take me hence, and to deliver me from this 
state of things. Do you, our descendants, also pray and 
diligently attend to God's Word, preserve the feeble torch-light 
of God, take warning, and be prepared as those who must ex- 
pect that Satan may at any time break a pane or a window 
for you, tear open door and roof, in order to extinguish the 
light, for he will not die before the last day. We must die, 
and when we are gone, he still remains. He has always been 
the same, and cannot cease his storming." But he also, by 
way of comfort, adds : "God help us, as ne helped our fore- 
fathers, and will also help our descendants, to the praise and 
honour of His holy name, forever. For it is not we who can 
help the Church, neither was it our forefathers, nor our de- 



TEE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER S LIFE. 



542 



scendants ; but He it was, still is, and will be, who says : I" 
am with you to the end of the world ; and Hebrews xiii., Jesus 
Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and forever ; and Rev. i., 
who was, and is, and is to come. Yes, thus the man is called, 
and so no other man is called, and no one shall be called. 4 

Luther was besides annoyed and vexed in various other 
ways. Thus he was very indignant at the nobility, who were 
not satisfied with the qualifications of their pastors, wherefore 
he wrote to John Schreiner, pastor and superintendent at Grim- 
ma : " Who can furnish the nobility mere Doctor Martins or 
Magister Philips for such a beggarly service ? If they want 
to have mere St. Augustines and Ambrosiuses, they may pro- 
vide them themselves. If a pastor is good enough for his Lord 
Christ, and is faithful, a nobleman, who is considerably less than 
Christ, should justly also be satisfied. Must not a prince also 
be satisfied in his temporal government, if he can find three 
able men among all his nobility, being constrained patiently to 
employ the rest as filling-up stones ? They wish to have every- 
thing select, but will not themselves be selected." 

Magister Simon Lemnius, a young poet at Wittenberg, had 
at W 7 hitsuntide, 1538, secretly published a book of Epigrams, 
against which Luther, in a public notice, warned all, as against 
" a most shameful, slanderous and lying book, abusing many 
honourable and well-known men and women of this town and 
these churches." He further wrote : " As this same scandal- 
ous poetaster, moreover, extols that despicable town-clerk at 
Halle, pardon the expression, bishop Albrecht, and makes a 
saint of the devil, I cannot silently permit this to be done in 
public print, in this church, university and town, because that 
same wretched bishop is a false lying character, and, notwith- 
standing, is accustomed to call us the Lutheran knaves," &c. 
Concerning this abuse of their relative, all the Brandenburg 
princes entered complaints with the elector ; and Duke Al- 
brecht, of Prussia, wrote to Luther himself, praying him to 
have patience, and rather to build up than to tear down. It 
was not merely, he said, because he did not wish to see the 
house of Brandenburg assailed, but most of all, that the Word 
of God might spread, and many and all the electoral and 
princely houses become well-disposed towards his beloved 
father Martin, that thus, through the favour of the person, the 
cause of the wholesome Word might also be promoted. 
" Therefore," said he, " my beloved pious doctor and christian 



542 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE* 



teacher, it is my most earnest, christian and diligent prayer 
that you would take all this into christian consideration, and 
reflect what further mischief Satan might occasion from such 
things, that you may not leave Satan too much room." But 
Luther replied to the duke : That he was not indeed surprised 
at such a request from him, as being a near relative ; that if 
the duke, however, would read his reasons, he would not him- 
self think or speak very highly of the bishop, who Went be- 
yond all bounds in his malice and knavery. That there, how- 
ever, never had been a family so exalted and noble, in which 
some degenerate child had not been found ; that the duke 
should, therefore, leave the desperate priest to the judgment 
of God. 5 

During this time, Luther suffered severely from diarrhoea ; 
with reference to which, he said : " I must permit the posterior 
parts to exercise their authority, for God punishes us also in 
the secret parts of the body, as he did the Philistines, 1 Sam. 
v." He was also afflicted with violent and sudden pains in 
his limbs, so that he was constrained to use a staff, and thus 
to walk along as upon three legs, which he did with great 
difficulty. Then he said : " Oh, merciful God, have I not lived 
long enough ? Oh, suffer me to pray with the prophet Jonah : 
4 Therefore, now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me : 
for it is better for me to die than to live. ' " And upon Philip's 
asking him whether he felt any other sickness afflicting him ? 
he said : " The body is somewhat weak, for this I need no 
help ; but in the soul I need a stronger faith. For Satan hates 
us and assails us in every way." On the 8th August, he said : 
u God has, after all, severely afflicted me, and I have also been 
impatient, because I am exhausted from so many and such 
great afflictions ; but God knows better why he sends afflic- 
tion than we do. Our Lord God is a printer, who preserves 
the types He composes ; we see and feel them, but the im- 
pression from them we will see in the next life ; meanwhile, 
we must have patience." 

In the year 1539 Luther published the " Counsel of a Com- 
mittee of Cardinals drawn up and delivered to Pope Paul the III. 
at his command," adding his Notes, and observed concerning 
it in the preface : * The pope is encumbered with the wretch- 
ed council, as a cat is with her young. In Germany he does 
not wish it held, at Mantua he cannot hold it, as he pretends, 
now it is to be held at Vicentia, where it cannot be, and they 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER'S LIFE. 



543 



do not mean it to be either. He will yet be as unfortunate 
with his council, as Marcolfus was, who could nowhere find 
a tree on which to hang himself. Let us not disturb these 
holy people with a council, they cannot bear one at any rate, 
and will not institute one unless they are permitted to do in 
it what they choose. They are apprehensive that if a council 
is held, they will lose feathers and hairs, and even their own 
patron. They burnt their fingers at the council of Constance, 
and have become fully sensible of this. For if they should 
only in the least point be found censurable or in error, the 
pope, with his crown and keys, would be prostrated in the dust, 
and this would be death and perdition to his exalted majesty, 
which heretofore rested upon this article, that the pope and 
his See or Church could not err ; that, on the contrary, what he 
did or said was an article of faith, and was to be believed by 
all Christians, on pain of eternal death. Danger to his ma- 
jesty, accordingly, forbids the holding of a council, in which 
the question might be discussed : whether the Roman See has 
erred or been in the wrong, or whether it may err? For 
Daniel xi. it is written of Antichrist, that he would be a king, 
who would do what seemed good to htm, that is, that he would be 
a god. subject to no law, but a lord and master over all law. 
As they therefore dread the council, they have recourse to the 
most crafty manoeuvres, and imagine that these will not be 
perceived. Thrice they have removed the council ; so they 
have likewise published the reformation of the Roman court, 
in order that the council, if it should perhaps be held against 
their will, might not find anything to be reformed at Rome ; 
and as the Roman court before, so now the whole Church is 
reformed with this little book, that the council might not have 
anything to reform or to do in the Church ; the pope having 
already begun with this, thus the council w 7 ould be nothing more, 
than that one would greet the other, and return home again. 
But this reformation properly reforms nobody, as everything 
is at any rate yielded to the pope, and the pope and the cardi- 
nals are represented as never having done a wrong act. Un- 
happy Mr. Nobody has done all the mischief, and this refor- 
mation is a true nobody's reformation. Luther also illus- 
trated the contents of the book (concerning the Reformation of 
the Church) by means of a likeness: the pope was represent- 
ed as sitting upon an elevated throne, and around him were 
standing several cardinals, who, using fox-tails, fastened to 



r 

544 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHElR S LIFE. 



long poles, as brooms, were sweeping out every thing above 
and below. 

Luther likewise wrote a preface to the little work, entitled: 
u What the pope, at the diet of Nuremberg, sought to obtain 
from his imperial majesty's vicegerent and the estates of the 
realm, in reference to the Lutheran cause," &c, in which he 
says : Just as Moses most earnestly commanded his people, 
never to forget the bondage of Egypt, from which God had de- 
livered them, so we must also now, with regard to the papacy, 
remember the cruel tyranny which it exercised over Chris- 
tians, and never forget, from what a shocking bondage of 
conscience the Lord has again, through his Holy Word, de- 
livered them. Therefore this and similar books are diligently 
to be preserved, that posterity also may see what tyranny and 
knavery the pope has resorted to in Christendom, for the papists 
are now beginning to adorn themselves, endeavouring to per- 
suade men that they have never done an exceptionable deed. 
But it is of no avail, there are too many books and testimonies 
extant, even their own decretals and bulls, which they cannot 
adorn and gloss over. 

Authorities. — MSS. of several conversations of Luther, in Keil, vol. 
3, p. 107. Corp. Ref. T. HI., p. 397, 99. Let. No. 1800, 1820. 
Mathes. 11. Pred. Seckend. lib. III. p. 306. Corp. Ref. T. III. p. 
386, 391, 420, 454, 461. The disputation against the Antinomians, 
Works, vol. 21, p. 349, seq. Corp. Ref T. III. p. 482, seq, 495, 513. 
Treatise against the Antinomians, vol. 21, p. 344. (Let. No. 1835.) 
Let. No. 1772. Works, vol. 22, p. 592. Seckend. lib. III. p. 198. 
Let. No. 1815. Table Talk, Keil's ed. vol. 3, p. 117. The preface to 
the book : What the pope, &c. ib. p. 239. 

Notes. — 1.) At Easter, 1538, for instance, he preached nine days in 
succession. Corp. Ref. III. p. 513. 

2.) Besides the Antinomistical error, which after Agricola was sup- 
ported chiefly by the Freiberg court-preacher, Jacob Schenk, there were 
other points also upon which erroneous opinions were entertained at 
Wittenberg. Especially was the suspicion excited against Melanchthon 
and Cruciger, that they differed from Luther on several points, and the 
elector consequently caused Chancellor Briick to speak to Luther con- 
cerning the matter, who intimated, that in reference to the article of the 
sacrament, no firm reliance could be placed upon Melanchthon ; he never- 
theless always continued to esteem him as well as Cruciger very highly, 
and does not upon the whole seem to have done or said much with re- 
gard to the matter. In the letters and documents in the Corp. Ref. T. 
III. beginning at p. 366, there is repeated mention made of these 
misunderstandings. 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



545 



3. ) He had first manifested these in reference to the articles of visi- 
tation, on account of which he severely assailed Melanchthon, for which 
he, however, was reprimanded by Luther. Compare p. 346, Note 2. 

4. ) The dispute, as is known, did not end here; we did not, however, 
deem it necessary to pursue it any further. Agricola, namely, com- 
plained that Luther had proceeded too far against him ; the latter de- 
fended himself in a writing, (Works, vol. 21, p. 360,) whereupon the 
elector wished to make an end of the dispute by bringing about an un- 
derstanding between the parties. Agricola, however, meanwhile, con- 
trary to his promise, left Wittenberg, and proceeded to Berlin, where 
he received an appointment from the elector of Brandenburg, and whejace 
he also issued a complete revocation, and begged Luther's pardon. 
The latter, however, never rightly trusted him again. Compare 
Seckend. lib. III. p. 308, seq. 

5. ) Luther was exasperated against the archbishop, especially be- 
cause of the inimical proceedings allowed against the Evangelical 
Party at Halle. He had attacked him before, and was only with diffi- 
culty restrained from quite relentlessly assailing him. In the notice 
referred to, he for once gave vent to his indignation against him. 
Comp. Seckend. lib. III. p. 791, seq. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE LEIPZIG WHITSUNTIDE FESTIVAL, 1539. 

At Nuremberg a league had been formed, at the head of 
which stood the dukes, Louis of Bavaria and Henry of Bruns- 
wick, and the latter especially was wholly intent upon disturb- 
ing the public peace, and insisted upon commencing the. war 
againt the Protestants. Luther being questioned with regard 
to this matter, replied to chancellor Briick, that his gracious 
lord could with a secure and good conscience, in case of ne- 
cessity, defend himself against the nefarious designs of the op- 
posing princes, that he also was required to protect his sub- 
jects. "But to attack," added he — "and to attempt frustrat- 
ing such design of the princes by means of war, is by no means 
advisable, but most scrupulously to be avoided. For here is 
the Word of God : He that takes the sword, shall perish by the 
sword. Now there is no command here to employ the sword, 
because the guilt or the deeds of the adversaries are not yet 
evident or manifest, and these inimical princes are not under 
the authority of our gracious lord." " And if they," continues 
he, "were attacked now, as long as they have not publicly 
furnished occasion, this would not only afford them plausibility, 

35 



546 THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER. ? S LIFE. 

but also the greatest right, to defend themsel ves from neces- 
sity. Greater reproach could not be cast upon the Gospel, for 
this would occasion, not an insurrection of peasants, but an in- 
surrection of princes, which would involve Germany in utter 
ruin.''' "But if,"' says he in conclusion, " my gracious lord, the 
landgrave, should be unwilling to acquiesce, and resolve to 
proceed, my gracious lord is not required to observe the league. 
For we must obey God rather than men : and all leagues must 
be and remain subject to God and right, so that nothing may 
be done or undertaken in opposition to these. But if my gra- 
cious lord, the landgrave, or those of Magdeburg, were at- 
tacked, my gracious lord is obligated by the league, to make 
every effort for them as he would for himself, acting as above 
stated ; for God requires us to observe faith and fidelity. 

If Luther no longer opposed the view, that the emperor 
might also be resisted, he did this chiefly because, as he said, 
it was not the emperor who began this war, but the pope and 
the bishops, who had engaged the emperor to defend their ty- 
ranny and diabolical practices against the acknowledged 
truth. That the emperor had nothing against the princes as 
emperor : that the pope, however, wished to make causes of 
things which were not causes, and thus to involve the emperor 
in this dangerous war. That, therefore, if it were permitted 
to wage war against the Turks, and to defend one's self against 
them, how much more against the pope who was worse than 
the Turks ! That if the emperor were found among the sol- 
diers of the pope or the Turks, he might abide the consequences, 
as such nefarious conduct would deserve. That in this case 
the emperor could not be considered emperor, but the soldier 
and robber of the pope. And in an opinion submitted in 
common with Jonas, Bucer and Melanchthon, Luther wrote: 
"It is undoubtedly the veritable, divine truth, which we are in 
duty bound to confess, even unto death, that not only defence 
is permitted, but that it is also truly and earnestly enjoined 
upon all potentates, as a service due to God, to defend and to 
protect themselves, in case any one government, or others, 
attempt to force them to engage in idolatrous and prohibited 
worship ; so also, if any one should venture to exercise unjust 
authority over their subjects." 

But he once more stated that this was all to be understood 
of defence ; and then taking up the question : " Whether he 
that acts on the defensive, is in duty bound to wait till his en- 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



547 



<emy makes an actual attack V and replying to it as follows : 
" If the ban is published against one or more of the allies, the 
enemy has declared war, and those on the defensive can use 
preventive measures ; as natural and written law demon- 
strates, in accordance with the prescribed rule, that the Gos- 
pel does not prohibit, but confirms the office of the govern- 
ment and natural law;" he nevertheless adds: "Although 
this is true, therefore, it still does not behoove us to conclude, 
that we are therefore forthwith to begin, but the lords must 
themselves consider, whether it would be advisable, and 
whether other means canngt be employed with success. Here 
we are also all to call upon God, that he would graciously 
grant peace and victory, and the people are to be earnestly 
exhorted to such prayer." 

Therefore Luther also issued an address " To all pastors 
in Christ, who love the Gospel," in which he says, that the 
conflicting reports and clamours about the approach of the 
Turks had wholly confused men s and he was apprehensive 
that the wrath of God was nearer than was imagined, and 
that the Turks would come, when men would be most secure 
and accustomed to the clamour. That the best defence, ac- 
cordingly, would be to arm ourselves against them with 
prayer. That the Papists had, moreover, long since endeav- 
oured to occasion some calamity in Germany ; that they could 
not cease, but were raving more and more, being stone blind, 
and not considering that they could indeed make a beginning, 
but not an end. That he was not apprehensive of their being 
able to accomplish their designs : but of this he was apprehen- 
sive, that, if they should begin, and the other side should be 
constrained to defend themselves, a war would be occasioned 
by it, which would not cease till Germany would be complete- 
ly ruined. " But now because," — continues he — "our sins on 
both sides are very ripe, great and crying ; there, with false- 
hood, blasphemy of God, violence, murder, persecution of the 
innocent, &c. ; here, with ingratitude, contempt for God's 
Word, avarice and much wickedness ; I am greatly apprehen- 
sive that God, his wrath being so exceedingly tempted, will at 
last send one of these two rods, or perhaps both, to scourge us 
Germans : That I may therefore do my part, I most earnestly 
pray all pastors, faithfully to admonish their people, and dili- 
gently to represent to them these two rods of God, that they 
may fear and become pious. For there is no trifling here, and I 



548 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



am shocked at our sins ; nor am I a willing prophet, for it 
commonly comes to pass as I prophesy. That they would,, 
in the second place, earnestly pray and entreat God, as it can 
not be otherwise at any rate, Germany must at last be reward- 
ed for its folly, because its sins, being excessive already, 
daily increase in number and guiltiness ; that He would, in his 
divine mercy, chastise us with some other rod, be it pestilence 
or something else, that principalities, stations and authorities 
at least may remain, and the Turks may not come upon us, 
wrapt thus in security and sleep ; but that he would much less 
permit us to be devoured and consumed among ourselves, 
through the raving of the papists. v Verily, there is time and 
need for prayer. For Satan does not sleep, the Turks are 
not idle, and the papists do not rest ; there is no hope that 
they will cease from their blood-thirstiness ; they are not want- 
ing in will, wrath, property and money ; they have everything- 
of this description in abundance for a beginning, except that 
God has not dispensed to them courage and power enough ; 
otherwise Germany would long since have been drenched in 
blood, as the pope and his adherents also have threatened us. 
Now, as human counsel and power cannot avail to check these 
blood-hounds, but God alone can check them, as he has done 
thus far, let all be pious, who can be so, and pray God not to 
withdraw his hand from us, but cause us to be curbed, accor- 
ding to the demerits of our grievous sins on both sides. The 
papists do not pray, their blood-thirstiness does not permit 
them ; neither do they see their complete corruption, and their 
blindness, malice, pride and riches do not permit them to see 
it ; therefore let us, at least, be pious, watch and pray, who 
by the grace of God, see and pray ; we also know that we are 
truly heard, as we have thus far experienced what great 
things our prayers have accomplished; albeit, no blasphemous 
papist perceives it, as it is written : Let the wicked be taken 
away, that he may not see the glory of God. 

From February to April, 1539, a convention was held at 
Frankfort, for the purpose of adjusting the disputes between 
the estates. Luther very diligently and kindly wrote to Me- 
lanchthon, who was there, but he entertained little hope of the 
negotiations, for one part, he thought, desired an open door for 
the Gospel, the others wished to close it, the posture of the mat- 
ter being, that Christ and Belial would have to be united, or 
one part would have to yield to the other. 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHER's LIFE. 



549 



About this time Luther finished his treatise u Concerning 
the Councils and the Church" In the preface to it he says, that 
thus far all the world had cried and waited for a council; the 
good emperor, together with the whole empire, had laboured 
for it these twenty years already, the pope also always com- 
forting them with promises, and still deferring, and always 
holding up the bait to the emperor, as to a dog. That as the 
pope, accordingly, with his adherents, wholly refused to hold a 
council, and to reform the Church, but defended his tyranny 
and nefarious proceedings, it was necessary for them, them- 
selves, as being forsaken by the pope, to look for counsel and 
help elsewhere, and firsth 7 , beseechingly to seek a reformation 
from the Lord Christ, and to hold a council, and undertake a 
reformation without the pope, and without their consent. Hav- 
ing upon this shown, in the introduction, that those were greatly 
deceived who imagined that the pope, with his adherents, 
would also consent, or would have to consent, to such a re- 
formation, inasmuch as he deemed himself above the councils, 
fathers, kings, God, and angels, and it would be difficult to con- 
stitute the fathers and the councils his masters, he shows in 
the sequel that it would be just as useless to undertake a re- 
formation from the fathers and councils, without the pope, even 
if he refused, or attempted to hinder it. For that St. Bernard 
boasted of having first drawn his knowledge from the Scrip- 
tures themselves, saying that he did indeed highly esteem the 
holy fathers, but did not receive everything that they had said, 
and that he therefore rather drank from the source itself than 
from the streamlet. It was evident, moreover, that the coun- 
cils not only differed from one another, but were also, in some 
cases, directly opposed to each other as well as the fathers. 
That every one could here extract what pleased him, and 
suffer to remain what did not please him: but who was to be 
umpire here? Then he demonstrates from the example of St 
Augustine, that it is impossible to bring back the Church to the 
doctrines and customs of thejathers and the councils, inasmuch 
as the same would not have the fathers, bishops, councils, no mat- 
ter how holy or learned they might be ^ nor did he wish even 
himself to be trusted; he directed us to the Scriptures, and added, 
without these, all is uncertain, lost, and in vain. But that if 
St. Augustine was rejected from the number of the fathers, 
the rest would not be worth much, since St. Augustine was 
justly deemed one of the best of the fathers, and was esteemed 



550 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER's LITE. 



as the ablest throughout Christendom. " Behold," continues 
he then, " we will set St. Augustine, Bernard, and others like 
them, aside, and will take up the councils and fathers them- 
selves, and see whether we can regulate our lives according 
to them ;" and shows, from the example of St. Cyprian and St. 
Augustine, as regards their views concerning baptism, how dif- 
ficult it is to reconcile the fathers with one another, in order 
that we might be certain as to what and how we are to preach 
to Christians ; having then demonstrated, from the example of 
the four chief councils, that there is no council or father from 
whom every christian doctrine can be obtained or learned, he 
passes over to a more detailed account of the four chief coun- 
cils, which constitutes the second part of this treatise. Here 
Luther shows that the councils have no power or right to es- 
tablish new articles of faith and to change former ones, and 
that the councils are to be judged and also held according to 
the chief article which furnished the occasion for the council? 
this being the council substantially, the body of the council, to 
which everything else was to adapt itself. Thus he shows 
that the council of Nice first!}" maintained the ancient arti- 
cle of the faith, that Christ is very and true God, in opposition 
to the new conceits of Arius, who attempted to falsify, yea, 
to change and to condemn, this article, in conformity to rea- 
son ; but that besides this it also treated of some incidental, 
bodily, outward, temporal matters, which are justly esteemed 
secular, and not to be compared to the articles of faith, they 
not concerning our times, it being not possible nor useful to 
observe them. That the council of the apostles at Jerusalem 
had likewise thus, after the chief article, ordained some inci- 
dental, outward regulations, as concerning blood, that which 
was strangled and sacrificed to idols, these being required at 
their time, but they did not institute them with the view- 
that they should continue in the Church as eternal laws or ar- 
ticles of faith. "Now, from nil this it is evident," says he, 
in concluding this account of the council of Nice, " that this 
council did not invent or ordain anything new, but through 
the Holy Scriptures condemned the new error of Arius, in re- 
gard to the ancient faith. So that from this the power cannot 
be granted to the councils (much less to the pope at Rome) to 
change old articles and to invent or establish new ones." 
Having then given an account of the second chief council., 
that of Constantinople, which firstly establishes that the Holy 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



551 



Ghost is true God, secondly, deposes the heretics and bishops, 
and thirdly, constitutes Bishop Neklarius of Constantinople, a 
patriarch, he again adds : "And from this we not only learn that 
the councils have no power to institute new good works, much 
less new articles of faith, but it also admonishes us that the coun- 
cils are not to establish or to institute anything new whatever, 
as those who are to know that they are not assembled for any 
such purpose, but for defending the ancient faith against new 
doctrines." Concerning the third chief council, held at Ephe- 
sus, he, after giving a somewhat detailed account of it, says, 
"Behold, neither did this council establish anything new in 
the faith, but defended the ancient faith against the new con- 
ceits of Nestorius, so that from this the councils cannot take 
the example or the authority for establishing new or different 
articles of faith." Finally, after he had demonstrated also 
that the fourlh chief council, held at Chalcedon, did not estab- 
lish any new article of faith, he added : " If these four chief 
councils neither wished nor could establish anything new in 
the articles of faith, as they themselves confess, how much less 
can such authority be granted to the other councils, which 
must be deemed inferior, if these four are to be called the chief 
councils. In the same way now we must look upon all other 
councils, be they great or small ; and if there were many thou- 
sands of them, that they, namely, cannot establish anything 
new either in faith or good works, but are, as highest judges 
and bishops, under Christ, to defend the ancient faith and all 
good works, according to the Holy Scriptures." # * # "But if 
they eslablish anything new with regard to faith or good 
works, it is certain that the Holy Ghost is not there, but the 
unholy ghost with his angels. For that they do without and 
aside from the Holy Scriptures. Therefore such councils, 
without the Holy Scriptures, are councils of Caiaphas, Pilate 
and Herod, as the apostles say, Acts iv. They take counsel 
together, or hold councils against God and his Christ." 

Then he shows what the business of a council is, and says 
that it, firstly, has no power to eslablish new articles of faith ; 
secondly, has power and is required to suppress and to con- 
demn new articles of faith ; thirdly, has no power to enjoin 
new good works; fourthly, has power, and is also required, 
according to the Holy Scriptures, and the ancient customs of 
the Church, to condemn evil works, which are opposed to love ; 
fifthly, has no power to impose new ceremonies upon Chris- 



552 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



tians. to be observed under pain of mortal sin and danger of 
conscience, as fast days, &c. ; sixthly, has power and is re- 
quired to condemn such ceremonies, according to the Scrip- 
lures ; seventhly, has no power to meddle with temporal laws 
and policy; eighthly, has power, and is required, according to 
the Scriptures, to condemn such received customs and new 
laws ; ninthly, has no power to adopt such statutes and de- 
crees which aim at nothing else but the establishment of 
tyranny ; and finally, tenthly, has power to institute some 
ceremonies, such only, however, which do not confirm the ty- 
ranny of the bishops, but are useful to the people and promo- 
tive of good order and discipline. At the close of the second 
part of this treatise he describes what a council properly is, 
and says that it is nothing else but a consistory, a superior or 
supreme court of judicature, or the like, in which the judges,, 
after hearing the parties, pronounce sentence, in humility, 
nevertheless, and in accordance with right, not according to 
their own conceits or wishes, or new-invented statutes, but 
according to the ancient statutes, that is, according to the Holy 
Scriptures, which are the statutes of the holy Church. He 
thereupon added the admonition to the emperor and kings to 
hold a noble, severe, and powerful council, and if the pope did 
not willingly yield, to compel him to submit to it, as the em- 
perors had done in the four chief councils. And if other 
monarchs should not consent to a general council, the em- 
peror Charles and the German princes could, nevertheless, 
hold a provincial council in Germany. 

In the third part of this treatise, Luther treats of the Church, 
and in accordance with the creed, states distinctly what the 
Church is, namely, a communion of saints, that is, a collection 
or assembly of such men, who are Christians, and are holy, 
from which it could at once be concluded, that the pope, bish- 
ops, priests, and monks, were not a holy, christian people, as 
they did not believe in Christ, nor did they lead a holy life, 
but were the wicked and scandalous imps of Satan. That 
edifices of stone which were called churches, did not consti- 
tute the true Church, but a holy christian people, in whom 
Christ lived, worked, and ruled, through his grace and the for- 
giveness of sin, and the Holy Ghost, through the daily purging 
out of sin and the renewing of life, so that they did not con- 
tinue in sin, but were enabled to' lead a new life as was re- 
quired, performing alls manner of good works. That the 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



553 



Christian Church, or this christian holy people, were known, 
firstly, by having the Holy Word of God ; secondly, by teach- 
ing, believing and using the sacrament of baptism according 
to the institution of Christ. Thirdly, by dispensing, believing 
and receiving the sacrament of the altar according to the in- 
stitution of Christ; fourthly, by the keys which they use pub- 
licly; fifthly, the Church is outwardly known by consecrating 
or calling ministers, or having offices which it fills ; sixthly, 
the holy christian people are known by prayer, by publicly 
praising and thanking God ; seventhly, by the holy cross, they 
having to suffer all manner of distress and persecution, temp- 
tations and evil from Satan, the world and the flesh, that they 
may become like unto their head, Christ. Other outward 
ceremonies, which do not render the Church holy, neither have 
been instituted or enjoined by God, are to remain free, because 
such things are wholly outward, and are completely and en- 
tirely subjected to the direction of reason. In conclusion, he 
adds the admonition, firmly and diligently to sustain schools, 
as these were true, youthful, eternal councils, which were 
probably productive of more good than many other great 
councils, wherefore the princes and the lords should apply the 
property of the cloisters to schools, and many persons should 
found stipends. If posterity did misapply them, they would at 
least have done their part during their time. 1 

The death of duke George of Saxony, which occurred at the 
time of the Frankfort convention, frustrated the designs of the 
princes who had confederated against the Evangelical Party, 
so that duke Henry of Brunswick is reported to have said : 
That he would rather that God in heaven had died. But Lu- 
ther said that duke George was an example, which should be 
well considered in these last times, of a father with his two 
well-formed, full-grown sons perishing in a short time. For 
when duke George, in his enmity to the Gospel, severely op- 
pressed his brother, duke Henry, at Freiberg, Luther had pro- 
phesied to him that he and his race would perish, saying : 
"God will turn the leaf, and cause him that is rich in heirs to 
wither, and him that is withered to flourish through his bless- 
ing." John, the elder of the two sons of duke George, had 
been so enraged against Luther, that he on one occasion sent 
him word through the painter, Lucas Kranach : " That if after 
the death of his father, the reins of government once come into 
his hands, he should find in him a severer enemy : that if his 



554 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER's LIFE. 



father had been iron to Luther, he would be steel to him." 
Luther smiled when Kranach related this to him, and replied: 
" That duke John should only look to it how he might die 
happily : that he did not dread his menaces, as he well knew 
that duke John would not live to see his father's death." 2 
The same died on the 21st January, 1537, and on the 20th 
February. 1539. the second son, duke Frederick, died, both 
without heirs. Duke George now constituted his brother 
Henry, with his sons, his heirs ; under the condition, however, 
that they should not introduce any changes with regard to re- 
ligion, in which case his dominions were to fall to the emperor 
and King Ferdinand. Before the ambassadors, however, who 
had been despatched to duke Henry, in reference to this mat- 
ter, returned with the answer of the latter, duke George had 
unexpectedly died on the 17th of April, and his brother Henry 
forthwith came to Dresden, and took possession of his do- 
minions. In the same year, on the 3d May, the ambassa- 
dors of the princes of Pommerania, who had returned from 
Frankfort, supped with Luther, and observed, that duke 
George had died very opportunely, as his death had extinguish- 
ed the match which might have occasioned a great conflagra- 
tion. " Yes," said Luther, "all the thoughts, designs and en- 
terprises of the papists have for their aim the destruction of 
us Lutheran knaves, as they call us, even if the Church must 
perish. But God has discomfited their counsellors and 
brought their counsels to nought, for he can hurl the mighty 
from the throne, and exalt those of low degree ; he can scatter 
the nations that delight in war, as the Psalm says. So he also 
knows how to bring to nought the confidence which is placed 
in men and princes, and which the 146th Psalm prohibits, 
saying, that we are not to confide in princes, as they are men 
and cannot help, for the spirit of man must pass away, and he 
must return to the dust ; then all his projects perish ; thus we 
are to learn to confide in God, and to follow him." 

As duke Henry now, at the instance and with the aid of the 
elector, began the reformation of his dominions ; the elector 
ordered Luther, with Melanchthon, Jonas, Cruciger, and My- 
conius, to be at Leipzig by Whitsuntide. Friday, previous to 
the festival of Whitsuntide, the duke received the oath of alle- 
giance from the city, and on holy eve Luther delivered a 
sermon in the court-chapel of the Pleissenburg, concerning the 
Gospel for Whitsuntide, from John xiv. 23-31. In it he sets 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER's LIFE. 



555 



out with the words : " If a man love me, he will keep my 
words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto 
him, and make our abode with him," and says, here Christ 
pronounces a severe sentence, prophesies, and forgets the 
abode at Jerusalem, of which all the prophets said, Here I will 
abide for ever and ever. This abode the Lord Christ demol- 
ishes, constructing and erecting a new abode and a new Je- 
rusalem, not of stone or wood, but, " He that loveth me and 
keepeth my words, shall be my castle, dwelling, and abode." 
Herewith Christ adjusts ihe dispute with regard to the true 
Church. " Upon this point," continues he, " we agree with 
the papists, that there is one Christian Church. But Christ 
designs to be otherwise in the country. These are precious 
and noble words, that God will come down to us : He will 
come down to us, we need not climb up unto him ; He will be 
with us to the end of the world: thus the Holy Spirit operates, 
and directs all things, and dwells in the Christian Church. 
But what is the dispute between the papists and ourselves ? 
Answer : Concerning the true Christian Church. Are we not 
to obey the Christian Church, then ? Most assuredly ; all be- 
lievers are required to do so. For thus St. Peter, in his 1st 
epistle, and 4th chapter, commands : If any man speak, let him 
speak the word of God. If any one preaches, let him leave his 
own words to temporal and domestic affairs ; here in the 
Church he is not to speak anything but the word of this rich 
Lord of the house. Therefore we must be able to say, God 
speaketh" * * * "And although there is much babbling aside 
from the Word of God, such babbling does not, after all, con- 
stitute the Church, even if they become frantic in crying, the 
Church, the Church ; you must hear the pope and the bishops. 
For if they are asked what the Christian Church is, what it 
enacts, and what it command*, they reply : The Church looks 
to the pope, the cardinals, and ihe bishops. That is not true. 
Therefore we must look to Christ, and hear of him how he de- 
scribes the true Christian Church, in opposition to their false 
clamours. For we must credit Christ and the apostles more 
than them, that we may speak God's Word, and do as St. Peter 
and the Lord Christ say here : My abode is in him that keepeth 
my word. Thus sailh the architect: My Word must remain 
in it, or it shall not be my house. Our papists venture to im- 
prove upon this ; therefore they may abide the consequences." 
He then shows how baptism, the Lord's Supper, absolution, and 



556 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



prayer receive their sanctity and power only from God's Word, 
and then proceeds: 

In short, the Church is an abode, in which God is to be loved 
and heard, it being constituted not of wood or stone, nor of 
irrational brutes, but of men who know, love and praise God. 
Further, that you may be able confidently to trust God in all 
things ; in afflictions and sufferings, you are to know, that it is 
the true Church, although there are scarcely two believing 
men in it. Therefore Christ says : He that loves me, keeps 
my Word, in him I have my abode, there you have my Church. 
Wherefore beware of the varnished church of the pope, which 
is adorned with gold and pearls. For Christ here teaches the 
opposite. To love God, and to keep his Word, consists not in 
the long robe, the crown, or the decretals of the pope. There 
is a great difference between what God enjoins, and what 
men enjoin. Behold, how the pope babbles, that we are to 
worship the saints and observe his human statutes. Does 
God's Word also require this of you ? I do not yet see that it 
does, but this I well know, that God's Word says : I, Christ, go 
to the Father, and he that believeth in me, shall be saved. 
For I, I, I have suffered for him, and I also give him the Holy 
Spirit from on high. Thus, then, the Lord Christ and the pope 
each has his Church, but with a mighty difference, as 
Christ, the best dialectician, here describes what and where it 
is, namely, where his Word is preached in its purity. There- 
fore, where you hear this, there know that the true Church is. 
For where God's Word is not, there there are also no orthodox 
confessers and martyrs. And if this were false, we would be 
deceived by Christ, and this would be a sad deception. Oh, that 
we did only rely upon Christ, and on the other hand did mock 
and deride the pope. Because the Lord Christ here plainly 
says : Not he that has my Woitl, but he that keeps my Word, 
loves me, and is my disciple. For there are many who indeed 
have the Word, but after all do not keep it, and in time of 
persecution, they, perhaps, wholly fall off and deny Christ. It 
would indeed be desirable, that we might always retain both the 
Word and temporal convenience ; but that dear game, peace, 
is very rare in the kingdom of Heaven. It is therefore to be 
considered a great gift of God, if peace and a good understand- 
ing exist between temporal princes. But if this cannot be, 
then let us part with property, honour, wife and children, that 
we may at least retain this treasure. But I fear that there, 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE, 



557 



alas ! are among us many weathercocks, false brethren, and 
such like weeds ; I do not wish, however, to be a prophet 
any more, because I cannot prophesy anything but evil at any 
rate. And who can exhaust it all? The truth will yet ap- 
pear. We possess it ; let us see to it, that we preserve it. 
Let us be on our guard against Satan, who designs to winnow 
us as wheat. For perhaps you gain your livelihood under the 
protection of a pious government : here Satan will soon strive 
So make you secure and presumptuous, that you may not con- 
fide too much in God's Word and give too much attention to it. 
Therefore Christ says : My sheep do not only hear me, but also 
obey and follow me ; they daily increase in the faith, through 
the hearing of the Divine. Word and the right and proper use 
of the highly revered sacrament. Thus strength and consola- 
tion are received in this Church. And this is the true Church ; 
not hoods, bald-pates and long robes, of which God's Word 
knows nothing ; but where two three or are assembled, be it on 
the ocean or in the depths of the earth, if they only abide in 
God's Word, with them certainly is the true, ancient, veritable 
apostolical Church." In conclusion, he once more draws 
attention to the description which Christ gives us of the 
Christian Church; that it, namely, is "an assembly of men, 
who not only have his Word, but also love and keep it, and 
from love for it, forsake every thing," and says that this de- 
scription is " a fierce clap of thunder against the pernicious 
pope and his decretals, by means of which he has made a sink 
of corruption of the Church, the detestable wretch." Thus was 
fulfilled what Luther had prophesied a few years previous, say- 
ing : " I perceive that duke George will not cease to persecute 
God's Word, the preaching of it, and the poor Lutherans. 
But I will live to see him and his whole race perish, and will 
yet preach God's Word at Leipzig." 

On the 25th May, it being the first of the Whitsuntide Holy 
Days, the princes early drove to the Church of St. Nicholas, 
where Dr. Justas Jonas preached. Luther preached at ves- 
pers, on the Epistle concerning the coming and the office of 
the Holy Ghost. 3 The services were all conducted in the 
German language, hymns of Luther's were sung before and 
after sermon, all the prayers also being uttered in the Ger- 
man language. There was so large a collection of peo- 
ple at the preaching, that they also stood on the projections 
from the pillars over the pews of the female portion of tho 



658 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER S LIFE. 



audience, and wherever they could find a place to stand ; yea, 
that, because they could not all come into the church, many 
planted ladders against the windows from without, and listen- 
ed through the broken panes of glass. The most of the hear- 
ers fell upon their knees on the occasion, and with tears re- 
turned thanks to God for this merciful deliverance. 

Luther, who had, whilst at Leipzig, lodged with the phy- 
sician, Dr. Stromer, drove to Grimma on Whitsuntide Monday, 
the 26th May, in company with the elector and duke Henry, 
on which occasion duke Henry complained greatly of his 
toother, duke George, saying, that he had not had a greater en- 
emy in all his life, than his own brother. 

The bishop of Meissen, who had immediately upon the 
death of duke George demanded of duke Henry, that he should 
not introduce any innovations in religion, as he designed him- 
self to undertake a reformation, on the 9th June, transmitted a 
writing to the duke entitled : " Common Christian instruction 
concerning articles, which every Christian must needs know." 
In reference to this writing, Luther, together with his col- 
leagues, submitted an opinion. He himself advised, that, the 
monks should, if they desired it, be permitted to pray their 
horas, and to preach, till it would appear what would likely * 
result from it ; but that as duke George had knowingly pro- 
tected the devil and condemned Christ, so duke Henry, on the 
other hand, should protect Christ, and condemn the devil ; 
wherefore he could not permit any private masses to be cele- 
brated either at Meissen, Stolpen or Wurzen. " For," added 
he, "princes are required, if they can do so, forthwith to put 
down Baal and all idolatr} r ,as the former kings of Judah and Is- 
rael, and after them Constantius, Theodosius and Gratianus did. 
For princes and lords are obligated to serve God and Christ with 
their ability, just as much as others." Finally, he says, that 
the people and the villages subject to the abbots and bishops, 
would have to be visited, especially, because they desired it, 
lest it might seem, that there was an intention of forsaking 
them. The visitation took place, too, but because, as Luther 
wrote, it has been far too negligently prosecuted, and there 
were more than live hundred pastors, virulent papists, who 
had not been examined at all, and who now boldly lifted up their 
horns in defiance ; he prayed the elector, for the sake of the 
poor souls, of whom many thousands were unprovided for un- 
der such pastors, that he would insist upon a second visitation 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



559 



in Meissen. " If it were not the cause of God," — added he — 
'!arid the cries of so many thousands of souls, we would much 
rather content ourselves with our own churches and schools, 
with which we have enough to do, without being required 
to serve in other dominions also." 4 On the other hand, he did 
not wish that Caspar Cruciger, (who in connection with Dr. 
Frederick Myconius was labouring in reforming the uni- 
versity of Leipzig,) should forever remain in Leipzig, as the 
council of that city had written to Wittenberg and desired, 
for Leipzig, he thought, would not so soon come up to Witten- 
berg, and he would not be able to accomplish as much good 
there as here : wherefore it would be sad that he should neg- 
lect much here and accomplish little there. " A gun of smaller 
calibre than this," — he observed, — "will do for Leipzig, that 
this university be not wholly denuded, especially because Dr. 
Caspar is a most able lecturer on theolog}^, on whom I cal- 
culate for supplying my place after my death." 

In the spring of 1539, Wittenberg and the university suf- 
fered greatly from scarcity, so that the majority of the stu- 
dents were constrained to depart. Luther, accordingly, ad- 
dressed himself to the elector, and prayed him to show him- 
self gracious, "not only by affording present necessary relief, 
but also by the exercise of his authority, that those of the no- 
bility might not thus alone in future buy up all the grain, and 
take it off for the purposes of their shameful speculations, to the 
destruction of your electoral grace's land and people." This year, 
however, yet turned out very favourably; all the grain and the 
fruit prospered abundantly. As Luther, on the way to Leip- 
zig, observed the grain standing in the field in all its beauty, 
loveliness and luxuriance, he prayed, gave thanks, and said : 
"O Lord God, thou wishest to give us a prosperous year, truly 
not on account of our piety, but because of thy name. Grant, 
dear Father, that we may reform our lives, and continually in- 
crease in the knowledge of thy Word. For it is nothing less 
tjian a miracle, that thou causest the blade and the ear to 
spring forth from the earth, yea, from the sand, which is as 
powdered gravel. Dear Father, give us, thy children, our 
daily bread." In October, on the other hand, the pestilence, 
or, as Luther thought, only a contagion, began to prevail at 
Wittenburg. " A much more dangerous pestilence," he wrote, 
"is this fear, which causes one to flee from the other, so that 
it is not even possible to find an attendant or waiter. I con- 



560 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



cetve that the devil has possessed the people with the true pes- 
tilence, causing them to become so shamefully frightened, that 
a brother forsakes his brother, and a son his parents, and this 
is undoubtedly the reward for the contempt of the Gospel and 
the madness of avarice. I have taken the four children of Dr. 
Sebaldus (whose wife had died, and who himself lay danger- 
ously ill) into my house. Good God, what a clamour has been 
raised against me on account of this !" To the pastor, John 
Mantel, at Wittenberg, who had requested a letter from Lu- 
ther, from which he might derive consolation and solace in 
his lingering and dangerous illness, Luther wrote at that time, 
that he himself needed a letter of consolation, "who am not 
alone with Lot, yourself and other pious Christians, in being 
vexed, plagued and tormented in this shocking Sodom, through 
disgraceful ingratitude and frightful contempt for the blessed 
Word of our dear Saviour, when I see that Satan so power- 
fully controls and possesses the hearts of those who conceive 
themselves to be the first and the chief in the kingdom of 
Christ and of God." " But that you write and complain," con- 
tinued he, " concerning temptation and sadness, because of 
death, you know from our creed, in which we say and confess 
that the Son of God suffered under Pontius Pilate, was cruci- 
fied and buried, that he might through his death entirely and 
completely deliver from death all who believe in Him. My 
good sir, of what account is it that we die, when we rightly 
consider that He, the dear Lord, died, and died for us ? His 
death is the true and only death", which ought so to engage 
and to absorb our hearts, senses and thoughts, that we should 
not imagine otherwise, than as if nothing now lived any longer, 
not even the kindly sun, and as if everything had died with 
our dear Lord, in such a way, nevertheless, that all will again 
rise with Him at that day. Into this, his death and life, our 
death and life are to be immerged, for we are eternally to live 
with Him. And, truly, He has preceded us with his death, 
from the beginning of the world, and waits for us also to the 
end of the world, in order that when we depart from this 
short, wretched life, (of which alone the ungodly know any- 
thing, but of which they are never for a moment secure,) He 
may receive us, and admit us into his eternal kingdom." 

Authorities. — Sleidan, lib. XII. p. 339. Works, vol. 21, p. 229, seq. 
Let. No. 1837. Works, vol. 21, p. 305, seq. Let. No. 1844. Slei- 
dan as above, p. 341. Mel. Epp., in the Corp. Ref. Tom. III., p. 670. 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 561 

Let. No. 1846. Treatise : Concerning the councils and churches, vol. 
21, p. 242, seq. Seckend. lib. III., p. 222. Tischreden, ed of Stang- 
wald, p. 749. John Spangenberg, Mansfeld, Chronick, p. 630. Sleid. 
p. 343, seq. Tischreden, p. 753. The description of the Leipzig fes- 
tival, according to Seckend. p. 218. The writings of Vogel, Weber 
and Schneider. The sermon, Works, vol. 12, p. 498. Keil, vol. 3 S 
p. 133. Seckend. lib. III., p. 215. Let. No. 1866, 78, 79, 89. No. 
1848, 50, 65. Tischreden, p. 129. Let. No. 1888, 94, 93. 

Notes. — 1.) Luther was not himself pleased with this writing. He 
writes to Melanchthon, No. 1846 : Mire me piget ejus scripti, quod 
tam tenue et verbosum sit. Verum singulare tractare et testimoniis 
exemplisque solidare forte non fuis set omnino ultra vires meas ; sed 
tempus et labor fuit ultra vires meas. 

2. ) When Kranach had again returned to the prince, and at the latter's 
urgent wish, had reported to him Luther's answer, the same is said to 
have become greatly terrified, to have fallen into a state of melancholy, 
and. though greatly addicted to the use of intoxicating drinks, never to 
have become rightly joyous again. 

3. ) This sermon is no longer extant. 

4. ) A number of the electoral Saxon theologians, namely, were en- 
gaged in the Visitation. 



CHAPTER III. 

LUTHER IN THE FAMILY CIRCLE AND AT THE TABLE. 

" There is not a more lovely, endearing, blessed relation, 
communion and society," said Luther, once, " than a happy 
marriage, in which husband and wife live in peace and union 
with each other. Neither is there, on the other hand, any- 
thing more distressing or painful, than when the bond is sever- 
ed by a separation or final parting. Next to which is the death 
of children, when they die, which I have tasted and expe- 
rienced." Again : " When marriage is peaceful and agreea- 
ble, it is next to a knowledge of God and his Word — the high- 
est favour and blessing of God. For many married people 
are very obstinate and whimsical, neither concerning them- 
selves about their children, nor cordially loving each other. 
Such people are not human beings." Again : " The highest 
favour and blessing of God is a pious, endearing, God-fearing 
and thrifty wife, with whom you can li 7 e in peace, to whom 
you can confide all your property, and what you possess, yea, 
your body and life, with whom you bring up children. But 
God plunges many into the married state, without con- 

36 



562 



THE LAST TEARS OF LUTHER* 5 LIFE. 



suiting them, before they rightly consider the matter, and it is; 
well he does so. Kate, you have a pious husband, who loves 
you : therefore, yon. as other pious wives, are an empress — ■ 
acknowledge it and thank God. But it requires a person that 
is pious and God-fearing for such a station.*' Again: "Next 
to God's Word, the world has not a more lovely and endearing 
Treasure on earth than the holy state of matrimony, which He 
himself has instituted, preserving it, having adorned and 
blessed it above all stations, from which not only all emperors, 
kings and all saints, but even the eternal Son of God, though 
in a supernatural way, are born. Whoever, therefore, hates 
the married state, and speaks evil of it. certainly is of the 
devil." * * # " I live, continue and die, praising the holy 
state of matrimony.' 3 

On this account, he so ardently longed for his family when 
he Lay so dangerously ill at Schmalkalden. (Part V. ch. 7.) 
" I thought," said he, afterwards," I would not see my wife and 
children here again : how greatly did such separation pain me ! 
I believe, indeed, that the natural inclination and love which 
a husband has for his wife, and parents for their children, are 
most intense in persons that are dying. But as I have now, 
by the grace of God, again been restored to health, I love my 
wife and children so much the more. Xo one is so spiritual 
that he does not feel such natural inclination and love. For 
it is a mysterious thing, this union and communion between 
man and wife." 

Luther's second child, his little daughter Elizabeth, born to 
him in the year 1527. (see p. 345.) had again been taken away 
by death on the 3d August, 1528. " I am surprised," he wrote 
in reference to this, to his friend Haussmann, whom he thanks 
for some toys, which the latter had sent to his little John, " at 
the frail, almost effeminate heart which she has left me, so 
greatly am I distressed on her account. I would scarcely ever 
have thought that a fathers heart could become so tender 
towards his children." God, in return for this, on the 4th May, 
1529, presented him with another daughter, Magdakna. and on 
the 7th November, 1531, with a son, Martin. Accordingly, in 
the year 1531, when the princes of Anhalt had presented him 
with a wild boar, and Jonas, Philip. Pomeranus and Cruciger 
dined with him, he celebrated three birth-days at once — that 
of St. Martin, and the birth-day of Martin, father and son. 
Onjhe 29th January, 1533, God again blessed him and his 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



563 



Kate with a son, Paul, and he prayed his patron, the hereditary 
marshal, John Loser, to humble himself and to show himself 
favourable to this his young son, " in order that, " he writes, 
" he may, through the holy sacrament of baptism, be brought 
from the old nature of Adam to the new birth of Christ, and 
become a member of the Christian Church, if God the Lord 
would perhaps raise up in him a new enemy to the pope or the 
Turks." On the 27th December, 1534, finally, his third 
daughter, Margaret, was born, and as he had previously pro- 
mised, he requested the prince Joachim, of Anhalt, to become 
sponsor at the baptism of this child. 

Being poor himself, he might well have been concerned for 
his wife and children ; but he considered such concern vain, 
and committed them to Him who had to this day richly granted 
everything. On one occasion, he blessed one of his children, 
which an aunt carried upon her arm, and said : " Go, and be 
pious ; money I shall not leave to thee, but a rich God I will 
leave to thee, who will not forsake thee. Be pious ; which 
may God grant thee to be. Amen." The children themselves 
he considered the greatest blessing of God. 

Dr. Jonas having once suspended a beautiful branch with 
cherries over the table, in remembrance of the creation, and 
praising the noble blessings of God in such fruits, Dr. Martin 
Luther said : " Why do you not much rather consider this in 
your children, as the fruits of your own body, which are more 
excellent, beautiful and noble creatures of God than any fruits 
of trees? In them you have displayed the omnipotence, wis- 
dom and skill of God, who created them of nothing, in one 
year giving them body, life, and all their members, of such ad- 
mirable perfection and beauty, and now also nourishes and 
preserves them. We, nevertheless, live on without greatly re- 
garding such gifts of God, yea, perhaps, even become blind 
and avaricious because of them. As is commonly the case, 
that people, when they are blessed with children, become worse 
and more avaricious, scraping, flaying and shaving wherever 
they can, that they may lay up treasures for them, not know- 
ing that a child, even before it enters the world and is born, 
has its portion, .what and how much it is to have, and what it 
is to become, assigned to it, as the Scriptures testify, and as 
the common proverb says : " The more children, the more 
blessing." O, dear Lord God, how great, alas, is the blindness, 
folly and even wickedness in a man that does not consider 



564 



THE LAST YEARS OF LCTHEE*S LIFE. 



this, but does the opposite with regard to the best and noblest 
gifts of God. which he perverts to all manner of sinful and 
shameful uses, in accordance with his pleasure and lusts, never 
singing a Deo Grades to our Lord God for them ! Once he 
beheld his children and said: u 0. what a great, rich and no- 
ble blessing God confers upon the married state ! What joy 
does not a man experience in his descendants, who are num- 
bered from him. even after his death, when he lies and decays ! 
Is that not the most delightful and the greatest joy ?'*' Again : 
" Children are the most lovely fruits and bonds of marriage, 
which confirm and preserve the bond of love." He. however, 
also knew that the married state had its burthens and the holy 
cross ( hrough the children.) On New-year's day. his child 
onc^ wept and cried so that no person could quiet it : then he 
and his wife were sad and distressed for a whole hour. Af- 
terwards, he said : " That is the disgust and the burthen in the 
married sta r e. on account of which every one shuns and dreads 
it and hesitates to marry. We all dread the whimsical no- 
tions of the female sex, the bawling and crying of the children, 
great expenses, bad neighbours, &c. Therefore we wish to be 
free and unfettered, that we may remain free lords, and do 
what we choose.*' 

The occupations and the manners of the children afforded 
Luther great joy. " The faith and life of children," said he, 
" are the best, for they have nothing but the Word. To this 
they cleave, in simplicity, giving God the honour, that He is 
true, being assured that He will do what he promises. But 
we. old fools, are subject to wretched, infernal doubt, which 
causes us first long to dispute about the Word, which they, 
the children, simply receive in a pure faith, without disputing. 
And. finally, if we wish to be saved, we must, in accordance 
with their example, base ourselves wholly upon the Word ; as 
Christ says and avers with a solemn oath : u Verily, I say un- 
to you. except you be converted and become like little children, 
you cannot enter into th^ kingdom of heaven." & Matt, xviii. 
It is one of the devil's artifices and tricks, that we suffer our- 
selves thus shamefully to be diverted from the Word through 
other business and matters, imagining that these are more im- 
portant than God's Word (upon which, after all, our welfare 
and salvation, temporal and eternal, are wholly ba-ed.) Some- 
times, too, we do so, ignorantly, not remembering that the 
matter is so important. Truly, we are unhappy people. 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



565 



Therefore, the best thing is, soon to die, and to be buried." 
On another occasion, Luther took his little son. and said to 
him : " Thou art our Lord God's little fool, under his favour 
and forgiveness of sin ; not under the law, thou dost not fear, 
art secure, and dost not trouble thyself about anything. What 
thou doest is well done." 

On another occasion, he observed the simplicity of his chil- 
dren, and praised their innocence, saying that they were much 
further advanced in the faith than we old fools. For that they 
in all simplicity, without disputing or doubting, believed that 
God was gracious, and that there was an eternal life after this 
life. How happy are children that die at such an age, although 
such an event would grieve me most greatly, for it would 
be a part of my body and a part of the body of their mother, 
that would die, and this natural love and inclination do not 
cease in pious and upright Christians ; that they should not be 
affected or grieved or take it to heart, as is the case with ob- 
stinate, obdurate heads and dolts, when their children or rela- 
tives, whom they love, are afflicted. For such emotions and 
inclinations are works of divine creation, which God has 
implanted in the nature of man, and which are not in them- 
selves sinful. Children live in admirable simplicity and purity 
of faith, not troublingthemselves with the objections of reason, 
as Ambrosius says : reason is in fault, not faith. From Coburg 
he wrote the following letter to his little son John : " Grace 
and peace in Christ, my dear little boy : I am glad that you 
learn so well, and pray so diligently. Always continue to do 
so, my dear .boy : when I return home, I will bring you a hand- 
some present. I know a beautiful, delightful garden, in which 
there are a great many children, who wear golden coats, and 
go about under the trees, picking up beautiful apples, pears, 
cherries, and plums, singing, leaping about, and rejoicing ; 
they likewise have handsome little horses, with golden 
bridles, and silver saddles. And I asked the man to whom the 
garden belongs, whose children those were ? And he said they 
were the children that prayed and learned well, and were 
pious. Then I said : Good man, I also have a little son, whose 
name is Johnny Luther, might not he also come into your gar- 
den, and eat such beautiful apples and pears and ride upon 
such fine little horses and play with these children ? Then 
the man said : If he prays and learns well, and is pious, he 
also shall come into the garden, Lippus and Jocelin too, and 



566 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER* S LIFE. 



when they all come together, they also shall have fifes, tym- 
bals and lutes, making all manner of music, on stringed in- 
struments, and shall dance too, and shoot with little cross- 
bows. And he showed me there a pleasant meadow in the 
garden, prepared for dancing, and it was hanging full of gold- 
en fifes, tymbals, and beautiful silver cross-bows. But it was 
early, and the children had not yet taken their meal ; there- 
fore I could not stay for the dance, and said to the mem : My 
good sir, I will go straightway, and write all this to my dear 
little boy, Johnny, ,so that he may pray diligently and learn well 
and be pious, that he too may come into this garden ; but he 
has an aunt, whose name is Lehne, her also he must bring 
with him. And the man said : yes, it shall be so, go and write 
all this to him. Therefore, my dear little boy, pray and learn 
diligently, and tell Lippus and Jocelin too, that they also 
learn and pray ; then you will all come into the garden 
together. With this I commend you to Almighty God ; greet 
aunt Lehne, and give her a kiss in my name. In the year 1530. 
Your dear father, Martin Luther." 

On one occasion he was playing with his little daughter, 
Magdalena, and asked her : " Magdalena, what will Christ 
bring you V Then he said : " Little children have such admi- 
rable thoughts of God, that he is their Gbd and dear father in 
heaven." Then his wife brought to <kim his little son, Martin. 
Whereupon he said : " I wish that I had died at the age of 
this child, I would gladly for the sake of it give all the hon- 
our which I have obtained or might yet obtain in the world." 
* 5 Alas, how much murmuring and pollution does our Lord God 
bear within us, more than a mother from her child !" On another 
occasion, observing his little son Martin, as he was playing with 
a little dog which he had, he said : " This boy preaches God's 
Word by his actions, where God says : Have dominion over the 
fish of the sea and the beast of the earth ; for the dog endures 
everything from the child."' Once again he beheld his chil- 
dren, and observing how different their natures and disposi- 
tions were, he marvelled at the work and creation of God, and 
said : Just as the dispositions are different, so the gifts also are 
different, and one man fares well, another evil ; the one expe- 
riences more happiness or misfortune than the other. There- 
fore we are to have regard only to God, the creator and ori- 
ginator, to trust in him, and to call upon him. 

Concerning the offering up of Isaac, he once said : " Good 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHER J S LIFE. 



567 



Lord God, how must the heart of Abraham have beaten, when 
he was required to offer up his only and most beloved son, 
Isaac. How distressing must his journey to Mount Moriah 
have been to him ! he scarcely said any thing to Sarah about 
it. Verily, I would have disputed with God if he had proposed 
such a thing to me, that I should do it. Then his wife rejoin- 
ed, and said : " I cannot pursuade myself that God would re- 
quire so shocking a thing of us, as the slaying of our own 
child." To which Dr. Martin Luther replied : " Dear Kate, 
can you not believe that God was willing to j^ave his only-be- 
gotten Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, die for us 1 He 
had nothing dearer in heaven or on earth, than this beloved 
Son, yet does he permit him to be crucified for us, and to suf- 
fer the shameful death on the cross. Should not human rea- 
son here judge and say, that God showed himself much 
more kind, gracious and friendly to Caiaphas, Pilate, Herod 
and others than to his own Son ? Abraham believed that there 
would be a resurrection from the dead, when he was required 
to sacrifice his son Isaac, concerning whom he nevertheless 
had received the promise, that from him the Messiah of the 
world should come, as the Epistle to the Hebrews testified." 

Luther nevertheless was very strict towards his children. 
Once he for three days refused to see his son, or again to take 
him into favour, unless he would first humble himself and 
ask forgiveness. And when his mother, Dr. Jonas and Dr. 
Teutleben interceded for him, he said : " I would rather have 
a dead than a disobedient son. St. Paul did not in vain say, 
that a bishop should be a man who ruled his own house well, 
and had obedient children, that other people might be edified 
through them, take good example from them, and be not offend- 
ed. But our disobedient children cause others to take offence, 
and the boys commit wrong, presuming upon our privileges. 
Yea, and though they sin often, and are guilty of all manner of 
knavery, I still do not find it out, I am not informed of it, and it 
is concealed from me. Thus we fare according to the com- 
mon proverb : The wrong that is done in our own houses, we 
hear last. Therefore he must be chastised, and not at all in- 
dulged or suffered to go unpunished," 

His servants he also admonished not to occasion any scan- 
dal m the house. " The devil watches me closely," said he, 
" being intent upon disparaging my doctrine, or casting some 
reproach upon me." Faithful servants he esteemed. When 



568 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE, 



John Rishmann, who had for a number of years faithfully, 
diligently and humbly served him, left his family, he not only 
gave him a testimonial, in which he prayed all that love God's 
Word to show him favour, and to assist him as much as pos- 
sible, considering the Lord, for whose sake he had served him ; 
but he also from Torgau wrote to his wife concerning him : 
" As John is leaving us, necessity and honour require, that I 
dismiss him honourably. For you know how faithfully and 
diligently he has served, having verily demeaned himself 
humbly according to the Gospel, doing and suffering every- 
thing. Therefore consider, how often we have given to 
wicked knaves and ungrateful students, which was all lost : 
accordingly now exert yourself, and be not wanting to so pious 
a youth, as you know that it is well applied, and pleasing to 
God. I know indeed that there is little at your command ; but 
I would give him ten florins if I had them. Less than five 
florins, however, you dare not give him, because he is not clad. 
If you can give more, give it, I pray you. The public treasury 
might, indeed, in honour of me, make a present to such a ser- 
vant of mine, considering that I have to maintain my servants 
at my own expense, for the service and good of their churches ; 
but as they choose. Do you not be wanting, as long as you 
have a cup to dispose of. Consider where you'll get it. God 
will provide again ; that I know. Herewith adieu. Amen." 

For his dear servant, Wolfgang Sieberger, who received a 
pension from the elector, he also, in the year 1535, when the 
same became lame in his arm, was anxious to purchase a 
small house, that he might know where he could abide after 
his death, and might not be constrained as a beggar and home- 
less wanderer to seek refuge, in a hospital. With this his ser- 
vant, Wolfgang, he had formerly once (in the year 1525) be- 
gun the turning business, " in order that," as he wrote to Link, 
"if the world wholly refuses to support us for the sake of 
the Word, we may be able to earn our bread with our 
hands, and thus, in imitation of our heavenly Father, serve the 
unworthy and the ungrateful." He sent his friend a gold 
florin, and prayed him, in return, to send them some turning 
tools, as they could be had of a better description at Nurem- 
berg. Also for various kinds of seeds he prayed him ; " for," 
said he, " as Satan with his members raves, 1 will despise him, 
and contemplate the gardens, that is, the blessings of the 
Creator, and enjoy them to His praise." In the following year, 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER S LIFE. 



569 



accordingly, he could write to Spalatin : " If you come to me, 
you shall witness some old monuments of our love and friend- 
ship. I have cultivated the garden, 1 and built the well, 2 both 
with very good success. Come to me, and you shall be crown- 
ed with lilies and roses." The turning tools also arrived from 
Nuremberg, and Luther wrote to Link, that they had tools 
enough for the time being, unless there should be some new 
ones, which would turn of themselves, when Wolfgang was 
sleeping, or indisposed to work. 

In the year 1534, this Wolfgang had once established a 
finch-decoy. Upon this Luther drew up the following com- 
plaints of the birds against him : " To our gracious lord, Dr. 
Martin Luther, preacher at Wittenberg. We throstles, ousels, 
finches, flax-finches, gold-finches, together with other pious 
honourable birds, herewith inform your honour, that one, 
called Wolfgang Sieberger, your servant, having, as we are 
credibly informed, from great wrath and hatred against us, 
dearly purchased a large nefarious decoy, and several old 
injured nets, for the purpose of establishing a finch-decoy, 
presuming to deprive not only our dear friends and finches, 
but all of us of the liberty of flying in the air, and of gather- 
ing grains on the earth, which God has allowed to us. Be- 
sides this, he has designs even against our lives, whilst we 
have not committed against him the least wrong, nor deserved 
such insidious and sudden treachery from him. All this now, 
as you yourself can imagine, being an excessive and great 
grievance to us poor free birds (who before have neither barns 
nor .houses, nor what is contained in them) ; we humbly and 
earnestly pray you, to cause your servant to desist from such 
treachery ; or if you cannot do this, at least to insist, that he, 
in the evening, scatter grain upon the decoy, and do not in 
the morning arise and go to the decoy before eight o'clock ; 
thus we will then take our passage over Wittenberg. If he 
does not do this, but thus nefariously makes designs upon our 
lives, we will pray God that he would frustrate his designs, 
and cause him during the day to catch frogs, grasshoppers and 
snails on the decoy in our stead, and at night to be annoyed 
by mice, fleas, lice and bugs, that he may forget us and not 
obstruct our free passage. Why does he not employ such 
wrath and fierceness against sparrows, swallows, magpies, 
jackdaws, ravens, mice and rats, which verily do you much in- 
jury, stealing and robbing, and even carrying the grain, oats, 



570 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER*S LIFE. 



malt and barley, &c, out. of your houses, which we do not do, 
as we seek only the small crumbs and single scattered seeds. 
We submit this our cause to the decision of unbiassed reason, 
whether he does not unjustly thus fiercely spread his nets for 
us ; we however trust to God, that as so many of our brethren 
and friends have fortunately escaped his wiles this fall, we 
also shall escape from those nefarious rotten nets of his which 
we saw yesterday. Given at our heavenly seat under the 
trees, under our usual seal and feathers. — Behold the fowls of 
the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into 
barns ; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not 
much better than they ? Matth. vi." 

Of Luther's daily life and conversation, Mathesius relates : 
Although, in his old age, he was often constrained in conse- 
quence of weakness and giddiness to remain at home, he still 
was not idle. At and after table he often wrote for his 
friends, that wished to preach ; thus he composed that beauti- 
ful book, his Matthew, after supper, for his table-companion, 
Dr. Weller, and wrote the 23d Psalm over table. So he was 
also frequently constrained to correct or revise after table. 
When he was able, he delighted in going to church, and he al- 
ways carried a book about with him. For, as he intimated, 
he could pray with more delight in the congregation than at 
home. His pew he had near the high altar, but during ser- 
mon he stepped into the university pews, and listened atten- 
tively and devoutly. On one occasion, he drove from home 
on a Sunday, and as the bells were ringing for service in a 
village, he with his companions alighted, and proceeding into 
the church, stayed during the whole sermon. On the road 
they spoke of the sermon, and some one remarking that the 
preacher might have explained the Gospel better, he said : " If 
a preacher can preach Christ in simplicity from the catechism, 
he is a blessed prea-cher. There are not only golden and silver 
vessels in the tabernacle of Moses, but also copper and iron 
ones ; they all, however, serve the one Son of God." Besides 
this, he frequently went to Confession and the Lord's Supper, 
powerfully comforted himself with his absolution, when he 
was spiritually distressed, and in the church he always waited, 
till all was ended. But, although he was rather corpulent, 
he ate and drank little, and seldom anything particular, being 
contented with common food. In the evening, when he could 
not sleep well, he found it necessary to take a drink for the 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER 5 S LIFE. 



571 



purpose of procuring sleep, on account of which he often ex- 
cused himself: " You young lads must permit our elector and 
me aged man, to take a richer drink ; we have to seek our 
cushion and pillow in the cup a " 

He also sometimes went to take supper with good people, 
with whom he was not acquainted, and on some occasions was 
joyous and full of instructive remarks at table. Mention be- 
ing once made of St. Paul's diminutive and weak voice, he 
said : I also have a diminutive and puny voice." " You are, 
nevertheless, heard at a great distance," said Philip. A doc- 
tor at Wittenberg once invited him, together with others, to 
become his guest. He, however, came to the table with 
gloomy thoughts, wherefore all observed silence. The repast 
•being finished, Philip, who very well knew how to adapt him- 
self to the Doctor's manner, proposed a separation ; the host 
desired them to content themselves an hour or so longer with 
him. Meanwhile, some one took away the bench, and as the 
Doctor delayed, the host attempted to sit down again, and fell 
flat on his back. This occasioned a good merry laugh. But 
the Doctor said : We have an unfriendly host, he presents the 
best dish last ; upon which all became joyful and merry, and 
continued together in good cheer for a considerable time longer. 
As he once came home from a collation, he toasted his guest 
with a good joyful drink, and said, " I will and must be joyful 
to-day, for I have heard bad hews, against which nothing 
avails better than an earnest Paternoster and good courage, 
for it vexes the melancholic devil that we attempt to be joy- 
ful." 

At table, Luther also sometimes sang ; he was also a skilful 
performer on the lute. In the intervals between the singing, 
he introduced instructive discourses. " Josquin," said he once, 4 

is the master of the notes, they had to do as he wished them ; 
other composers have to do as the notes wish them. Pie, no, 
doubt, also had his good spirit, as Bezaleel, especially when 
he so skilfully and endearingly arranged the Hac dixit Domi- 
nus, and the Circum dederunt me genitus mortis." 

One of his table companions once presented him with a hun- 
dred beautiful oranges. " Oh Lord, our God," said he, " what 
wilt thou not once bestow upon thy dear children who love and 
honour thee and thy dear .Son, because thou permittest so many 
noble fruits to grow for those cardinals and courtiers who de- 
spise and blaspheme thee. Let us, dear children, faithfully 



I THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIPE. 

abide with our holy Lord ; he preserves our portion for us, and 
will give us something better." 

At table, he explained many beautiful and precious texts, 
and gave satisfactory instruction when any question was pro- 
posed from the Scriptures. John Mathesius, of Joachimsthal, 
M. Veit Dietrich, of Nuremberg, Dr. Weller, of Freiberg, An- 
tonius Lauterbach, of Pirna, M. Casper Heiderich, superinten- 
dent at Torgau, M. Jerome Besold, of Nuremberg, M. Plato, 
and others of his table companions, put a great deal of what 
he said on paper. Frequently, indeed, he brought gloomy and 
deep thoughts with him to the table, and during the whole 
time of the meal observed his old cloister silentium, so that 
not a word was spoken at the table ; as occasion offered, nev- 
ertheless, he was very joyous and instructive, and his table* 
companions were accustomed to call his discourses condimenta 
mensce, which they relished more than the most delicate food. 

<• When he wished to engage us in conversation," says Ma- 
thesius, " he was accustomed to propose some question : 
** What is the news I" The first admonition we suffered to 
pass by. If he continued, " You prelates, what news in the 
land ?" then the older guests at the table began to speak. Dr. 
Wolff Severus, who had been preceptor to his royal Roman 
majesty, sat at the head, and when no stranger was present, 
he, being an experienced courtier, always introduced some sub- 
ject. When the conversation became lively, though keeping 
within the bounds of propriety "and respect, others too some- 
times added their mite, till the Doctor was drawn out. Some- 
times appropriate questions were proposed from the Scriptures, 
which he solved with admirable skill and brevity, and if any 
one sometimes ventured to oppose, he could also endure it, and 
would skilfully refute him. Frequently honourable men from 
the university, as also from strange places, were present, on 
which occasions very noble discourses and remarks were heard. 

Once, as his little dog was begging before the table, some 
one proposed the question, " Whether there would also be ir- 
rational animals in yonder world, as there were in this?" 
"Assuredly," said he, "for the new heaven and earth will not 
be desolate and waste, but filled with beautiful creatures; ev- 
ery little dog will have a golden collar, studded with gems, 
and on each hair will be a pearl. For the pomp and splendour 
of the present world will then belong only to irrational ani- 
mals ; the redeemed from among men will be adorned with 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER f S LIFE. 



true and perfect wisdom, righteousness, splendour and glory of 
the Lord Christ, which as yet no eye hath seen, nor ear hath 
heard, and no heart conceived." In the year 1541, when dur- 
ing a very beautiful spring, every thing flourished and bloomed, 
Luther said to Justus Jonas : 46 If only sin and death were ab- 
sent, we would be satisfied with such a paradise. But it will 
be much more beautiful, when the old world and the old state 
of things will be entirely renovated, and an eternal spring be- 
gin, which will be and continue forever." The computation 
of those who confidently fixed the year and the day of the 
final judgment being once referred to, he said: "No, verily, 
the text is too plain in Matthew xxiv. : Concerning the day 
and the hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels in heaven, 
but alone my Father ; therefore neither I, nor any man, nor an- 
gel, can fix the day or the hour. I believe, nevertheless, that 
all the signs which are to precede the last day have already 
happened. The Gospel is preached throughout the world, the 
child of perdition is revealed, and destroyed in the hearts of 
many, the kingdom of Rome is declining to its fall, all the ele- 
ments and creatures are in commotion, and declining ; there 
is no longer any love or-fidelity on earth, and Christ may come 
when he may, he will find but a small flock of believers ; ex- 
cess in eating and drinking, the practice of usury, anxious 
cares, covetousness, extravagance in dress and building, and 
all manner of irregularity, verily being as prevalent now as 
they were at the times of Noah, wherefore I conceive that 
the signs preceding the last day are fulfilled. Unless it should 
be that Gog and Magog, together with the papacy, should yet 
be crushed and destroyed previously, in a temporal respect too, 
and that particular and supernatural darkness should perhaps 
be witnessed in the sun and moon, as was the case at the 
death of Christ, and that the Gospel should, previously to the 
last day, be banished from all the churches, schools, and pul- 
pits, and be found only with pious heads of families, within 
their four walls, as it was at the times of Elijah, and as it ver- 
ily almost sterns it will be now. Otherwise, every thing is 
fulfilled which is to precede the last day. Meihinks Christ our 
Lord is already publishing his summons in heaven, and the 
angels are preparing for the journey, and because during these 
six thousand years all thegreat and marvellous events of which 
Elijah prophesied, have occurred in spring and about Easier, 
I trust Christ will also appear about Easter, and cause his 



5*74 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER* S LIFE. 



voice and thunder to be heard in a morning tempest, and then 
with one stroke, confoundtftg the heavens and the earth, in a 
moment of time transform the living, raise the dead, create a 
new heaven and earth, hold his judgment in the clouds, wholly 
fulfil the Scriptures, together with his last: It is finished ; this 
we await. For in this vale of tears we at any rate have no 
life. joy. or consolation, except in so far as we hear, contem- 
plate, believe, and preserve God's precious Word. This Word, 
Lord Jesus, thou eternal Word, continue unto us ; then we 
are and continue in life, and will triumph over death, the devil, 
and all their hosts, and finally prevail. Basing myself upon 
the verbal and written Word, I began my cause upon and with 
this Word : I have thus far, through the power of God, safely 
maintained it ; with this Word I am superior to all my ene- 
mies : upon this Word I still stand and base myself; upon this 
Word I will pass through death, to my dear Lord and Redeem- 
er. Whoever, therefore, with me, and together with me, yea, 
indeed, together with Christ, will venture to rely upon this 
Word, let him do it. I know nothing more secure and sure 
than the Word of God, recorded in the prophets and the apos- 
tles." 

Sometimes Luther referred to the evangelical preachers, 
remarking upon the peculiar talents and gifts in which one ex- 
celled the other, as also upon the faults and defects which 
many of them took with them into the pulpit. In one he 
praised the simplicity of language and manner, in the other 
the clever and well-suited illustrations. Those he praised 
who properly conceived and arranged their subjects, and ex- 
pressed themselves clearly and in good German. One, in par- 
ticular, he praised forbasing his sermon upon one passage, con- 
tinuing in this, explaining the words of the proposed text and 
theme clearly and distinctly, and often rehearsing the same 
thing to the common people, thus firmly impressing it upon 
his hearers. " Those are preachers who come down," he said, 
" and consider to whom they are preaching." Three preachers 
he compared to a full barrel, from which, if the spigot was 
withdrawn, everything would flow out as fast as it could come, 
and as long as there was anything in it, and mould and dregs 
would sometimes, too, flow out with the rest. Those he also 
praised, who, in the pulpit, began to speak, and at the proper 
time stopped again. Mathesius having requested of him 
some directions, by which a young preacher might guide him- 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHEr's LIFE. 



575 



self, he gave him this rule : " When you perceive that the peo- 
ple listen with great earnestness and pleasure, then conclude, 
the next time they will come the more willingly." 

Once a preacher had caught himself on a nail, in the pulpit, 
and torn his gown. This having been reported to the doctor, 
he said : "I thought that he was nailed fast because he could 
not stop." He often warned his table-companions, and said : 
" My good sirs, do not greet all, and do not explain every pas- 
sage that occurs to you. Take up one and handle it well ; this 
will enable the common and simple people to retain it." 

He often spoke very highly of the schools. " In them," said 
he, " something good still remained under the papacy ; for the 
Lord's prayer, the creed, the ten commandments, were still re- 
tained in them, and from them the churches were furnished 
with men. Former emperors expended much upon schools : 
thus Charles the First maintained thirty doctors at Fulda, from 
which he himself supplied his bishoprics and offices. But 
the drones expelled the bees from this bee-hive, and the monks 
and canons, who took possession of the schools, shared with 
the poor school-teachers and anchorets, as that farmer did with 
Mercury, who, in accordance with his prayer and promise, that 
he would devote the half of what was granted him to the 
Church, gave the outward part of the nuts and the inward 
part of the dates for pious purposes, the rest he devoured 
alone. If it were with me to make regulations, I would say, 
that no one should be chosen deacon or pastor, if he had not 
previously for a few years served in the schools, teaching the 
children, and diligently repeating with them the catechism, as 
well as useful arts. Schools, also, are temples of God, in 
which that is taught and learned which a minister must needs 
know. Wherefore, the ancient prophets were pastors and 
school-teachers at the same time, which is said still to be the 
case among Christians in Turkey at the present day." 

When distinguished jurists and courtiers and his good and 
confidential friends were around him, discoursing and 
speaking of the courts and ministers of great princes, he, as 
an experienced man, made very sensible remarks, as he was 
also accustomed playfully to say : " We must help to reform 
heaven and earth. For the great reformation, with which the 
popes have so long mocked the pious emperors and kings, is re- 
solved now at last to begin. For the great prelates insult 
Christ for the sake of gain. Faith and fidelity are also be- 



576 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



coming very scarce at court above ; fraud is everywhere on 
the increase j wicked knaves are promoted ; pious men must 
stand back ; licentiousness is gaining the ascendancy, and 
those who deem themselves the best, oppose our Gospel, and 
refuse to open their doors and gates, the dioceses and churches, 
to Christ. Therefore, Christ now mocks the great prelates, and 
will soon practise the second psalm and the Magnificat with 
them, and pay them such a visit, that doors and gates will fly 
open, and bastion and rampart lie in a confused heap. Many 
are evangelically minded, as long as there still are chalices, 
rich vases, and cloister property to be had. But it will shortly 
appear who has supported the Gospel in sincerity. God can- 
not be deceived, nor can his sight be obscured ; He sees into 
the heart. I am apprehensive that many of those that have 
supported our doctrine, will yet make shipwreck of their faith. 
As I also entertain the hope that many of those, who now with 
fervent ardour and pure papistical zeal oppose us, will yet receive 
the Gospel. For there is much more dependence to be placed 
upon a pious papist, who is sincerely attached to his religion, 
and hopes to be saved through his good works, than upon those, 
who from love of carnal freedom and from malice, denounce 
and persecute the pope, and assist in plucking out his feath- 
ers, gladly hearing only such preachers who valiantly assail 
the abbots, canons, and other adversaries. 

An aged preacher, on one occasion, was reading in one of 
Luiher's books. On his perceiving it, he said: " The Bible, 
thanks to God. ; is now finished ; therefore, there is no longer 
any need for my books ; they form the scaffolding to the Hoi)* 
Scriptures ; an aged preacher should have only one book, 
which is called the Bible, for this is the source; all other books 
are merely rivulets. Upon the Bible you can rest yourself 
firmly and securely : with the Bible, you can put devils and 
heretics to flight. Dr. Karlstadt, on this account, dreaded me, 
saying that I had read in the prophets and apostles ten years 
sooner than he had done, and therefore he cpuld not prevail 
against me." He also once said: " The Bible is a beautiful 
forest, in which there is not a tree that 1 have not shaken with 
my hand !" Again: ''The best exposition of Moses, the pro- 
phets, and the psalms, is the New Testament, especially St. 
John and Paul, as the Old Testament, also, is the foundation 
of the New Testament. If I were younger, I would search 
up all the words of the New Testament in Moses and the pro- 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



577 



phets. When the languages and texts are compared with one 
another, there result great and marvellous explanations of the 
Scriptures." Again : " A preacher should do three things : 
diligently read the Bible, pray earnestly, and remain a disciple 
and pupil ; thus he will be a great doctor." Again : " Three 
things make a theologian : meditation, prayer and trials. We 
must reflect and meditate upon the words of the Scriptures, 
and earnestly pray the Lord of the Bible for his Spirit, who is 
the door-keeper to God's library ; so we must also be some- 
what tried and experienced in the school of the cross, as Christ 
also was previously led into the wilderness by the Spirit and 
tempted of the devil, before he publicly preached in his 30th 
year. Matt, iv." 

Dr. George Major, who just then was rector, once visited 
Luther after meal. He was, at that time, upon Luther's ad- 
vice, privately reading St. Augustine's works, from beginning 
to end. Therefore, the latter inquired : " Domine rector, are 
you nearly through with your Augustine 1 Continue reading ; 
old preachers, who have to deal with the papists, must also 
read and know the ancient teachers and fathers." Then turn- 
ing to his young table-companions, he said : " Do thou read 
the Locos communes of Philip, besides the Bible ; they form 
the best books in which the pure theology is correctly and 
properly collected. Augustine accomplished something when 
the heretics constrained him to take up arms. Bernard, in his 
sermons, also speaks nobly of the Lord Christ, and the gracious 
forgiveness of sin. In disputing, he is not worth anything. 
Chrysostpmus is a babbler. Jerome, the good pater and pane- 
gyrist of nuns, understands little of Christianity. Ambrosius 
makes good remarks. If Peter Lombard had got into the Bi- 
ble, he would have surpassed all the fathers. Glossa ordina- 
ria and Lyranus may be read, for the sake of the grammar 
and the historical comparisons. Bonaventura and Gabriel de 
Biel were good men, as, after the time of Huss, something of 
the pure doctrine was retained and preserved by Gerson,Durs- 
ten, Proles, Staupitz, Wessalia and Fleck. But our M. Philip 
can explain the Scriptures, and meditate upon the subjects, and 
express them pointedly and with brevity ; he has, moreover, 
learned to pray under affliction and trials, and met the greatest 
and most learned adversaries ; he is also sincere in his theolo- 
gy. Therefore, my young lads, read his Locos and ad Romanos 
with diligence ; if any one feels disposed in addition to use my 



578 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



Beuleronomion and ad Galatas, he will be able to prepare and 
enrich his sermons the better." 

Concerning the holy cross of the Christian, he made many 
beautiful and consoling remarks at table : " Melius est tentari 
quam inflari. Next to the cross of Christ, the holy cross 
in the house of God is the highest treasure on earth. For it 
explains the Scriptures to us, and strengthens our faith, teaches 
us rightly and earnestly to pray, quenches our sinful flesh, and 
renders God's Word dear to us, God also through it implanting 
much virtue in us." Again: "He that flees the cross, loses 
the road to eternal life." Again : " Our Lord God employs 
the Hebrew language ; it is only after some time that his coun- 
sel and will are understood." Again : " Satan dispenses hea- 
ven to the secure before they have a knowledge of their sins, 
but Christ gives consolation to believers, after they have a 
knowledge of their sins." Again: " Before the commission, 
Satan represents sin to be small and insignificant ; but after 
the commission, great and grievous." 

He was also disposed to utter good German rhymes at table 
as well as in the pulpit ; for instance : " If you know anything, 
be silent ; if you are well, remain so ; if you have anything 
good, preserve it ; misfortune, with its crushing foot, comes 
speedily." Again : " Eat only what is well done ; do not drink 
muddy water ; speak what is true." Again : " Be silent, en- 
dure, avoid and bear ; complain of thy distress to no one ; do 
not despair of God ; thy help comes every day." 

Mathesius had once written to his friend M. Caspar Heide- 
rick, who had come to Luther s table after him, concerning 
the strange sights and signs which were reported to have been 
witnessed in Wiesenthal. The latter having shown the letter 
at table, Luther said : " O my dear Magister Caspar, if you 
wish to see animals, castles, cities and strange sights in the 
skies, then come to me, when there has recently been a storm, 
and there are many clouds ; then I will show you marvellous 
things. The world is always gaping after signs and miracles, 
and often erroneously believes to behold a white dog in the 
skies above for a brazier, easily crediting visions ; but be- 
lievers keep to the Word and preserve it. I have often prayed 
to my God, that he would not permit me to see visions or 
signs, or to be instructed through dreams ; for I have enough 
to learn in the Word, that is certain, true, and firm ; giving 
wisdom, consolation, peace and joy, and to all that pre- 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER* S LIFE. 



579 



serve it, eternal life ; God preserve us from false explana- 
tions," 

Luther was very contented. Even his enemies testified to 
this. One of them said, that he ought to be bribed with 
several hundred gold florins. " It will do no good with him," 
said another : — " The German beast has no regard for money, 
and will not accept of any, even if you offer it to him." The 
chancellor, Dr. Henry Schmidtberg, of Eilenberg, in the year 
1520, bequeathed a hundred gold florins to him, and caused 
him to be sent for ; but before Luther arrived, he had already 
died, firmly believing in Christ, having confessed Luther's doe- 
trine, and publicly recommended it. Luther was greatly re- 
joiced at this present, chiefly because, as he said, this deceased 
just man condemned the wicked, and because those who, to 
the reproach of the Divine Word, had presented the ambitious 
Eck with drinking-vessels and gold, would now have some- 
thing on account of which they could vex themselves, as he 
had not desired anything of the kind. But when another per- 
son (Schartus ?) presented him with fifty gold florins, he wrote : 
" I begin to fear that God means to reward me here ; but I 
have protested against it, for I do not wish to be satisfied in this 
way ; 1 will rather immediately return it, or spend it. For 
what do I want with so much money ? I have given one-half 
of it to my pater prior, and rendered the man quite happy." 
In the year 1525, a bishop (undoubtedly Albrecht of Mayence) 
sent him twenty gold florins through a doctor, causing them to 
be given to his Kate ; but he refused to accept them ; " for I 
have," said he, " thanks to God, retained the name that I do 
not take money." The booksellers offered to give him four 
hundred thalers annually for his labours ; but he refused to re- 
ceive them, and replied, that he did not wish to sell his gifts. 
u I have enough," said he " thanks be to God, who has 
blessed me with wife and children, the best of blessings, and 
with an elector, who, of his own accord, has offered me two 
hundred florins annually. It was indeed my determination, 
when I married, to lecture for money. But as God provided 
for me differently, I have never in my life sold one of my works 
nor lectured for money. This name I shall, by the permission 
of God, also take with me into the grave/' At another time 
he said : c< If I did not labour and toil for the sake of Him 
who died for me, the world should not, with all its money, be 
able to induce me to write a book, or to translate anything 



580 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER^ LIFEc 



in the Bible. I do not wish the world to reward me for my 
labours ; it is too insignificant and poor for this. I have never 
yet asked a farthing from my lord in Saxony, since I am. here." 
He sometimes, however, took a copy of his writings from the 
printers for his friends or some poor person, and thought that 
he might justly do so, inasmuch as other authors, yea, transla- 
tors, asked a gold florin for the sheet. 

In the year 1529, he wrote to the elector John, who had 
made him a present in clothing : 3 " J submissively pray your 
electoral grace, not to credit those who represent me as being 
in want. I have more, indeed, especially from your electoral 
grace, than I can conscientiously bear ; nor does it behoove 
me, as a preacher, to live in abundance, nor do I desire it. 
The too kind and gracious favour of your electoral grace, ac- 
cordingly, causes me anxiety; for I would not wish here in this 
life to be found among those to whom Christ says: Wo 
unto you that are rich ; you have your consolation. (Luke 
vi. 24.) Besides, considered in a temporal point of view, I 
would not wish to be burthensome to your electoral grace? 
since 1 know tljat your electoral grace is required to give so 
frequently, that you verily have nothing too much for your 
station ; for too many demands upon the purse exhaust it. 
Accordingly, although with the leather-coloured cloth it would 
have been proceeding too far, nevertheless, that I may show 
myself grateful to your electoral grace, I shall, in honour of 
your electoral grace, wear the black coat, although, verily, it is 
too costly for me ; and if it were not a present from j our elec- 
toral grace, I would never wear such a coat. I therefore pray 
your electoral grace to delay, till I myself complain and beg,, 
that your electoral grace may not, by thus preventing me, ren- 
der me diffident in interceding for others, who are much more 
worthy of such favours ; for your electoral grace bestows too 
much upon me. Christ will graciously and abundantly re- 
ward you : for this I sincerely pray. Amen." When the 
elector, John Frederick, offered to have a share in the Schnee- 
berg mines assigned him in the compact of the princes, he re- 
fused to receive it, and said : " The devil hates me ; he says, 
that all the treasures of the earth are his, and he might per- 
haps on my account cut off the ore ; then the rest of the cor- 
poration would have to suffer for my sake. It behooves me 
much rather to contribute a paternoster, that the ore may con- 
tinue, and the acquisition be well applied." Thus he also 



THE LAST YEARS OF LTJTHEr's LIFE. 



581 



wrote to Hausmann, when the latter had informed him, that the 
Zwickau council would fulfil its promise ; that he knew 
nothing of any such promise ; that such presents, moreover, 
were very burthensome to him, as they caused men to suspect 
him of great wealth, which he loathed and could not bear, and 
of which he accordingly did not wish to have the name. That 
Hausmann would therefore do well if he would endeavour to 
prevent the matter. That no one owed him anything except 
food and clothing, but that he owed all things to all. What 
presents he received from honourable and grateful people, he 
mostly again distributed. A poor man on one occasion com- 
plained to him of his great distress ; and having no cash, and 
finding the money which his wife, who lay confined at the 
time, had received from her sponsors, he took it, and brought 
it to the necessitous man. Being spoken to because of this, 
he said : " God is rich, he will help again." To the town- 
council of Wittenberg, he once wrote : " Dear sirs ; hunger 
also compels this poor young man to leave. He, however, has 
no money for his journey, as the rest ; but because he is a 
pious and learned man, we must help him. And you know 
that I have many and daily demands upon me to give ; so 
that I cannot afford it all. I pray you therefore to give him 
thirty florins. If there is not so much at your disposal, give 
him twenty, and 1 will give ten. If not, give him the half, 
fifteen, and I will give the other half. God will restore it 
again." — When, in the year 1542, the tax for the war against 
the Turks was collected, and the elector had enjoined, that 
Luther should not be required to render any contribution for 
his houses and property, 4 Luther, indeed, submissively thanked 
him for this, but thought that he would nevertheless also wish 
to be in the army against the Turks with his few farthings, 
as well as the rest who willingly contributed. " For," said 
he, " there are enough who are unwilling, at any rate, be- 
sides, that I would be an example, and zealous eyes should 
not be excited to envy, that Dr. Martin would also have to 
give. And who knows but what the farthings of those of us 
who are willing, do not please God more than the florins of 
the unwilling, as was the case with the widow, who cast in 
more with her mite, than the rich ?" 

Authorities. — Tischr. ed. of Stangw. p. 664. Mathes. 12. Pred. 
Tischr. p. 665, 6. Let. vol. 3, No. 1021, 1097-99. Vol. 4, No. 



582 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEll's LIFE. 



1420, 1487, 1504, 1616, 17, 18. Tischr. p. 671, 669, 670, 676, 67a 
Let. vol.4. No. 1228. Tischr. p. 671, 72, 73. Mathes. 12. Pred- 
Let. vol. 4. No. 1438, 39, 1634. Vol. 3, No. 761, 805, 874. Works, 
vol. 22, p. 581, seq. Concerning Luther's daily life, and particularly 
his deportment at table, according to Mathes. 12 and 13. Pred, Let. 
voL 1, p. 26$, 283. Tischr. p. 571. Fabricii Centifolio Lutheri. p. 
440. Tischr. p. 71. Let. vol. 3. No. 883, 1114. Mathes. 12 Piv 
Let. No. 1179. Mathes. 12. Pred. Unschuld. Nachricht. vol. 21, p. 
862. Let. voL 5. No. 2145. 

Notes.- — I.) Most probably the garden of the cloister. Subsequently 
Luther possessed several gardens. See note 4. In his letters to v 
Link of Nuremberg, and Lange of Erfurt, beginning with the year 
1526, there are repeated requests for various kinds of seeds and horti- 
cultural information. In December, 1527, he writes: "Si vixero, hor- 
tulanus ero. Subsequently he does not seem to have personally taken 
part in horticultural labour ; I have at least not discovered any traces of 
it in his- language. 

2. ) The well here- referred to, is undoubtedly the one still known as 
Luther's well, being situate about a mile and a half from the Elstergate,, 
and having a forester's house built over it at present. Report says r 
that Luther often walked out thither, especially when he translated 
John iv. (But at that time he was at the Wartburg.) 

3. ) Perhaps that Luther might be able to appear respectably at 
Marburg, whither he was to proceed at that time. (See Part 4, ch. 10.) 

4. ) At that time Luther, according to his letter to the elector, (vol- 
5, No. 2045,) possessed: 1. " The large cloister edifice" (presented 
to him by the elector John). This he wrote he did not know how to 
value, as he doubted whether his family would be able to maintain it 
after his death, since he could only with difficulty bear the expense for 
roof, glass, and iron, during his life, and only the third part of it was- 
completed. According to the bond, the elector had the right of first 
purchase. (Uckert, vol. 1, p. 347, states, that the heirs in 1564 sold it 
to the university for 3700 florins.) 2. For this reason he had pur- 
chased for his family " the next enclosure to it, Brun's House, for 400 
florins, and 20 florins to build it," which he however still owed. For 
this, he thought, he could scarcely pay tax, as he did not derive any 
profit from it, and it was all debt. 3. Three gardens, which he valued 
thus : the garden 500 florins, the hide with the garden 90 florins, and a 
small garden 20 florins. (With this the information which Keil, though 
without stating his authorities, gives, vol. 2, p. 203, vol. 3, p. 44, and 
vol. 4, p. 219, agrees in part, that Luther, namely, in the year 1527 r 
purchased a garden of Balthasar Hahn, in 1532, a garden and a plain 
of John Heuffher, and in 1544 a garden in the Speck (a wood belong- 
ing to the university of Jacob Gehmann.) 



t 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER's LIFE. 

CHAPTER IV. 



583 



THE LAST LABOURS. 

**I feel very reluctant to have my writings collected for 
publication," — Luther wrote in the year 1537 to Wolfgang 
Fabricus, Gapito of Strasburg, — "and I would sooner devour 
them all, as Saturn did his children. I cannot wholly acknowl- 
edge a single one of my books any more, except perhaps the 
book " that free will is nothing, and the catechism." I have, 
nevertheless, if anything is to be done in the matter, commit- 
ted the work to Dr. Caspar Cruciger." In the year 1539 there 
appeared the first part of the German Writings of Luther. In 
the preface he says : " I would gladly have seen, that all my 
books had been forgotten and perished. And among other 
reasons, that I dread the example ; for I well know, how in- 
juriously it has operated upon the Church, that men, in addition 
to the Holy Scriptures, collected great numbers of books and 
established large libraries, especially, without all discrimina- 
tion, raking up all the fathers, teachers and decrees of coun- 
cils, that could be found, in consequence of which, the precious 
time was not only wasted and the study of the Scriptures neg- 
lected, but the pure knowledge of God's Word also was finally 
lost, till the Bible (as happened to the book of Deuteronomy at 
the time of Josiah, king of Judah) lay forgotten in the dust be- 
neath the bench. And although it was useful and necessary that 
the writings of some of the fathers and councils should remain 
as testimonies and histories, I nevertheless think, that mode- 
ration is to be observed in all things, and that it is no loss, that 
the writings of many fathers and councils have perished, 
through the grace of God. For if they had all been preserv- 
ed, it would be almost impossible to go in or out for books, 
and they would after all have furnished us nothing better than 
what we find in the Holy Scriptures. We also had hoped, 
when we began the translation of the Bible into German, that 
there would be less of writing and more of studying and read- 
ing in the Scriptures. For all other writings are also to point 
to the Scriptures, as John did to Christ, saying : / must de- 
crease, but he must increase ; that every one might himself 
drink from the living source, as all the fathers, who wished to 
produce anything useful, were constrained to do. For neither 



584 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER's LIFE. 



the councils nor the fathers, nor we, when we have done 
our best, will be able to produce anything as good as that 
which the Holy Scriptures, that is, God himself, has furnished, 
though we must also have the Holy Spirit, faith, divine dis- 
course, and works, if we wish to be saved ; for we must 
permit the prophets and apostles to sit upon the chair, whilst 
we here below must hear at their feet what they say ; but we 
should keep quiet and listen. But as I cannot prevent it now, 
and it is resolved, without my consent, to publish a collection 
of my books, I must permit them to expend their means and 
labour upon them. I comfort myself with the thought, how- 
ever, that my books will, in the end, remain forgotten in the 
dust, especially where (through the grace of God) I have 
written anything useful. For I shall fare no better than my 
predecessors did. The rest will be likely to survive soonest. 
For if it was possible to suffer the Bible itself to lie under the 
bench, and also continually more and more to forget the fathers 
and councils, I can well hope, that, when the curiosity of the 
present age has been gratified, my books will not survive long, 
especially since it has begun to rain books and authors in such 
abundance, many of whom are already lying, forgotten and 
decaying, so that their names even are not remembered any 
more, whilst they had hoped, that they would forever be for 
sale in the market, and master the churches. He then ear- 
nestly prays those, who might wish to have his books, by no 
means to neglect the study of the Scriptures on account of 
them, but to read them as they would read the decretals of 
the pope, and the writings of the sophists, yea, of the fathers 
and councils ; and finally, points out a way to study theology, 
in which he had exercised himself, and through which one 
could become so learned, as to be able, if necessary, to write 
books, as good as those of the fathers and councils, namely, 
the way which David pointed out in the 119th Psalm, where 
these three rules were found: Oratio, Meditatio, Tentatio. 
(Prayer, Study, and Trials.) 

He also, when in the year 1538 he sent the AnnoUitions to 
Mattheio, and the Song of Solomon to Amsdorf, complained, 
that the brethren were tearing everything out of his hands, as 
he might perceive that all this was either privately copied by 
his friends, or hastily penned down by himself. The Annota- 
tions to Matthew, he had considered lost, when they were 
brought to him, ready for the press. He had, namely, at table, 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



585 



N~;ause he had no other time, written down some remarks 
for a good friend, who at that time was lecturing on Matthew, 
(Dr. Jerome Weller, see p. 570,) in order that the latter might 
have subject-matter for his lectures, but had not supposed that 
such thoughts would be preserved for the press. " For we 
have books enough and in abundance," — said he,—" both old 
and new, so that I can very gladly permit my books to perish. 

1 was forcibly constrained by my adversaries to appear in pub- 
lic. I nevertheless had no other design in it than, in accordance 
with my duty and my office, to conduct the studying youth to 
the sources themselves, that is, to the Holy Scriptures. And I 
conceive, that, through the grace of God, I have so dis- 
charged the duties of my office, as to have accomplish- 
ed some good. For now the Bible is again accessible, not 
only in the Hebrew, Greek and Latin, but also in our German 
language, and is mostly so explained, that every one, if he is 
pious and diligent, can, without my books, pasture himself in 
the Holy Scriptures, and satisfy his soul in them. 

The exposition of the Song of Solomon, he says, he had not 
undertaken for the purpose of exhibiting his learning, as many 
did, who exercised all their skill upon difficult books ; but that, 
by rejecting uncouth explanations, through which this book had 
hitherto been obscured, he might indicate a different and more 
befitting sense, which would be profitable not only for com- 
mon life, but also for a proper insight into the blessings of God, 
this being the object of all the Holy Scriptures, according to 

2 Tim. iii. 16, 17. " This book," said he, "is a eulogy on the 
temporal government, which was crowned with the loveliest 
peace at the time of Solomon. For just as those who wrote 
songs in the Holy Scriptures, wrote them concerning their own 
deeds ; so Solomon also in this poem commends his own gov- 
ernment, and as it were, pronounces a panegyric upon the peace 
and the condition of the commonwealth at that time. There- 
fore he returns thanks to God for this exalted blessing, 
namely, for temporal peace ; that thus from his example others 
also might learn how we are to thank God, and to acknowl- 
edge his exalted blessings, and at the same time also to pray, 
that, if anything is defective in the government, it may be re- 
formed." 

In this year also appeared the Exposition of the second, as 
likewise of the 14th, 15th and 16th chapters of John, and 
of the 51st Psalm. Concerning the last he says: "I 
have undertaken the explanation of this psalm, because it 



586 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



treats of repentance. But although I must acknowledge, that 
I have not yet attained to the exalted and rich spirit which 
speaks in this psalm, we will nevertheless take up the psalm, 
that we may be induced to learn and further to strive after 
this rich treasure. Therefore I will with you become a pupil, 
and study in it and learn with you, and see what the Holy 
Spirit will work in us ; and what blessing he bestows upon us, 
we will gratefully receive." For in this psalm, he said, were 
embraced the chief articles of the christian religion.it treating 
of repentance, of sin, of grace, of christian righteousness, of the 
true worship of God ; which important and exalted articles, if 
they were not inculcated in a high and rich spirit, could not 
possibly remain fixed in the heart or produce fruit. That the 
adversaries had also greatly inculcated these doctrines, but 
nevertheless spoke and taught of them as if they had been 
dreaming, for that the true and real sense of these articles 
could not possibly be attained to by means of human reason 
and wisdom. 

Finally, he also, in this year, published the three symbols, 1 or 
confessions of the christian faith, in German, in order herewith 
again to testify, that he agreed with the true Christian Church, 
" which has thus far preserved these symbols, or confessions, 
and not with the false, vain-glorious Church, which neverthe- 
less is the worst enemy of the true Church, and has introduced 
much idolatry in connection with such noble confessions." 
He further says : That he had found it corroborated by the 
history of the Universal Church, that all those who had rightly 
taught and preserved the chief article concerning Jesus Christ, 
had remained firmly and securely in the true christian faith. 
That on the other hand also, all error, heresy, idolatry, scan- 
dal, abuse and wickedness in the Church, had originated from 
the fact, that this article of the faith concerning Jesus Christ 
had been despised or become lost. Having then demonstrated 
this, he replies to those who scornfully cast up to the Church, 
that there are so many divisions and sects found in it, whilst 
it ought to be united and peaceful, and finally adduces several 
passages from the Scriptures to confirm this article. 

In the year 1539, Luther, in connection with other learned 
theologians, began anew to revise the Bible. Mathesius re- 
lates concerning it : " The whole German Bible having now 
been published, and one day with its trials always teaching 
the other, Dr. Luther, with great earnestness, diligence and 
prayer, takes up the Bible from the beginning, and revises it 



THE LAST YEARS OF LCTHEr's LIFE. 



587 



throughout, and because the Son of God had promised, that 
he would be present where several assembled in his name, 
and prayed for his Spirit, Dr. Martin Luther, so to speak, in- 
stituted a peculiar Sanhedrim of the best men that were to be 
found at that time, who weekly assembled in the doctor's 
cloister, for several hours previous to supper, namely : Dr. 
John Bugenhagen, Dr. Justus Jonas, Dr. Cruciger, M. Philip, 
Matthew Aurogallus, M. George Rorer, the corrector, being 
also present ; sometimes doctors and learned men from 
a distance were present at this great work, as Dr. Bernard 
Ziegler, Dr. Forstemius. The doctor having now previously 
examined the published Bible, and gathered information from 
Jews and such as were conversant with foreign languages, be- 
sides inquiring of aged Germans for suitable words, as he en- 
gaged a butcher to kill several wethers for him, and 
to inform him how each part of the sheep was called, Dr. 
Martin Luther came into the consistory with his old Latin and 
German Bible, with which he also always brought the Hebrew 
text. M. Philip brought with him the Greek text, Dr. Cruci- 
ger, besides the Hebrew, the Chaldee Bible ; the professors had 
their rabbis with them ; Dr. Pommer also had a Latin text for 
himself, with which he was very conversant. Each one had 
previously prepared himself upon the text, concerning which 
they were to consult, having examined the Greek and the 
Latin together with Jewish commentators. Upon this the 
president proposed a text, and passing around in order, he 
heard what remarks each one had to make upon it, according 
to the peculiarity of the language and the exposition of the 
ancient doctors. Most admirable and instructive discourses 
are said to have been heard on these occasions, some of which 
M. George has recorded, and which were afterwards printed 
as notes and expositions upon the margin of the text. The 
doctor stated three rules which were to be carefully observed : 
The Bible being a book of God, which he had through the 
urging of his Spirit, caused to be recorded by the prophets and 
apostles, who had visibly seen and heard the Son of God him- 
self, before and after his incarnation, no one should engage in 
this labour without heartfelt prayer, as the Word of God would 
have to be explained through God's Spirit, as he also writes in 
his letter concerning translating : This labour requires a very 
pious, faithful, diligent, fearful, christian, learned, skilful and 
experienced heart, and also suitable and expressive words, if 



588 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER's LIFE. 



the Bible is to be translated rightly and intelligibly. Now the 
Bible speaks especially of the being and will of God, and most 
of all concerning the eternal Son of God, his incarnation and 
sacrifice, concerning his Church, concerning temporal govern- 
ment, and concerning the domestic institution. If the text now 
does not speak of Christ and his Church, it must speak of tem- 
poral government, or of the holy state of matrimony and the 
domestic institution. These are the three holy hierarchies and 
stations of which the Bible speaks. The dreamings of the 
Jews and other new expositors, which concern neither the 
Church of God, nor government, nor the domestic institution, 
are to be unceremoniously discarded and rejected. Then the 
peculiarities of the Hebrew words, and the mode and manner 
of expression in this language, must be diligently considered. 
For the holy language has its peculiar characteristics and 
modes of expression, which cannot be successfully imitated in 
all other languages. Upon such previous admonition each 
one now stated what he could substantiate from grammar, or 
from valid deduction from what precedes and what follows, or 
from the testimony of learned men, till finally, in the year 
1542, 2 this work, through the grace of God, was completed." 
" When the labour was ended, our Dr. Martin Lu- 
ther sometimes retained his friends and co-labourers to supper, 
on which occasions, very interesting remarks were made. I 
have heard that he once disputed and inquired concerning 
Ahab's belt, 1 Kings xxii. 34, at table. For the former Ger- 
man Bible read : That Ahab was wounded between the sto- 
mach and the lungs. Now it is rendered : between the corse- 
let and belt, to which the sword is suspended from the 
shoulder, as the marginal note states. Again, he started the 
question, how the word chail ought to be rendered in good 
German, whether it ought to be translated oeconomica], or 
honourable, virtuous, frugal, sensible ? When some proposed 
the new words tugendreicJie and gestrenge, (very virtuous 
and severe,) he replied : We do not wish to be bothered with 
lady-terms and stern and severe ladies in our houses, or 
the Bible. When Dr. Luther now had laboured till he had 
become weary and fatigued, he was joyful at table, and some- 
times instituted a vocal concert. On one occasion we, in pre- 
sence of some kindly people, sung the last words of Dido from 
Virgil: Dulces exuvice. Magister Philip also joined in, and 
when the singing ceased, he said : Virgil wished to compose 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER*S LIFE. 589 

a requiem for Antonius, in which he embraces his last words 
and will. Oh God, said Dr. Luther, what poor and miserable 
people are those blind heathens, with their learned men ; how 
wretchedly do they die ; without the cross of Christ and the 
light of the Word ! as the great poet also concludes his book, 
when he portrays the death of prince Turnus : Vitaque cum 
fremitu fugit indignata sub umbras ; I die with rage, and pass 
impatient hence ; therefore many a one also breaks his own 
heart, as this wretched, short-sighted Dido does. We praise 
God for the last words of David, Simeon and Stephen, who 
fell softly, gently and joyfully asleep, in the true knowledge 
and worship of the eternal Mediator, commending their souls 
to the safe-keeping of the Lord Christ." 

In the caution which Luther prefixed to this edition of the 
Bible, against counterfeit impressions, he says : " If any one 
desires to possess this new improved Bible for himself, or for 
a library, I herewith faithfully caution him, to see what, and 
where he purchases, and to inquire for this impression, which 
has been published here this year, 1541 ; for I do not expect to 
live long enough to revise the Bible another time. And even if I 
should be required to live so long, I am nevertheless too weak for 
such a labour." Luther notwithstanding continued to labour 
at this his work, and to improve it, and he said : " If I should 
be assailed and censured as having sometimes failed in the 
translation, I will gratefully receive it, for how often did not 
St. Jerome fail," &c. And he once said at table : e< If I were 
as eloquent and rich in words as Erasmus, and were skilled 
in the Greek, like Joachim Camerarius, and as conversant 
with the Hebrew as Forsterus, and were also younger, O 
how 1 would labour in God's Word !" 

In the year 1545, 3 there also appeared the first part of Lu- 
ther's Latin Writings. In the preface he says : That he had 
earnestly and for a long time resisted those .who had wished 
to collect and to publish his books, or rather his irregular 
writings, partly because he had not wished in this way to 
bring the ancients into forgetfulness, partly also because there 
now, through the grace of God, were extant many able works 
and writings ; above all, the Loci Communes of Philip, and be- 
cause the Bible was now accessible in almost all languages ; 
finally, also, because his books had been irregularly published, 
one after the other, as the confused and the irregular affairs 
had demanded them ; that some, however, had incessantly pes- 



590 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



tered him, and daily represented to him, that if he did not per- 
mit it during his life, his writings would be published after his 
death by such as would be ignorant of the occasions and times 
of the affairs, and the confusion would thus only be increased. 
That these had at last prevailed upon him ; the elector, his 
gracious lord, also, having enjoined the printers not only to 
print his books, but also to hasten with the printing. That 
he, however, prayed the reader, for Christ's sake, to read them 
with great caution and commiseration, remembering that he 
had formerly been a monk, and a true frantic, raving papist, not . 
so cold as Eck and his like, who defended the pope merely for 
the sake of fat living, but had been earnest in the matter, as 
having dreaded the last day, and yet having most earnestly de- 
sired to be saved. That the reader would accordingly find in 
these his first writings, how he bad allowed many and great 
articles to the pope, which he had afterwards held, and did 
still hold, to be the greatest blasphemies and abominations. 
That this his error should be ascribed to the times, and to his 
ignorance, for that he had at first been wholly alone, and alto- 
gether unqualified, and much too unlearned, for engaging in 
so important a business, he having been involved in this strife 
and contention unexpectedly, and without any design or wish 
on his part, to which he took God himself to witness. Upon 
this he relates his history up to the diet of Worms, and adds : 
" This I relate, in order that you, most beloved reader, if you 
peruse my books, may remember, that I also, as above said, am 
one of those who, as St. Augustine writes of himself, have im- 
proved in writing and teaching ; not of those who instantly 
rise from nothing up to the highest pinnacle of learning, al- 
though, in truth, they are nothing, do nothing, accomplish 
nothing, having neither been tried nor experienced in any- 
thing, but who still, if they only once look at writings, exhaust 
their spirit completely. 

Authorities. — Let. No. 1773. Works, vol. 22, Ap. p. 144, seq. 
Let. No. 1831. Annot. to Matth. Works, vol. 9, p. 1, seq., to Can- 
ticles, vol. 9, p. 1, seq. Exposition of the 2d ch. of John, vol. 9, p. 
504, seq. of the 14th, 15th, 16th ch. of John, vol. 10, p. 5, seq. of the 
51st Ps., vol. 6, p. 170. The Three Symbols, vol. 22, p. 102. Cons. 
Theol. Viteberg, 1664, p. 9, seq. Mathes. 13. Pred. Cons. Theol. 
1. c. Works, vol. 21, p. 645. Vol. 22, Ap. p. 146, seq. 



Notes. — 1.) They were the Apostolical, and the Athanasian Creed, 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



591 



and the so-called Ambrosian hymn. The Nicene Creed he appends al 
the close. 

2. ) It was completed already in the year 1541 ; it may however 
have been considerably advanced into the year 1542 before it was de- 
livered. The Wittenberg bookbinders, at least, were busily engaged 
during this year with the binding of the Bibles, (Let. No. 2081,) for 
the electors of Saxony and Brandenburg. The princes of Anhalt, &c. 
had ordered Bibles on parchment, and prince George of Anhalt had 
also ordered several hundred copies, on good writing paper, for his 
churches ; they had them all bound at Wittenberg. (Let. 1. c. and No. 
1879. Cons. Theol. Viteb. 1664, p. 9, seq.) For further particulars, 
concerning this and the following editions, see Schott : Geschichte der 
deutschen Bibeliibersetzung, Dr. Martin Luther's, p. 92, seq. 

3. ) Several smaller exegetical writings of Luther from the last years, 
(as the expositions of the -prophets Nahum, Zephaniah, Malachi, 
Works, vol 8,) we have here passed by as of less importance ; the po- 
lemical writings, see in ch. 6. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE LAST NEGOTIATIONS. 

Towards the close of the year 1539, Martin Bucer came to 
Luther and Melanchthon, with a message from the Landgrave, 
Philip of Hesse, in which the latter confessed that he had, du- 
ring the time of his marriage, lived in adultery and fornica- 
tion, wherefore he had also been constrained to abstain from 
the table of the Lord, as he had not been able to approach it 
with a good conscience. Because, however, he had read in 
St. Paul, that fornicators and adulterers would not inherit the 
kingdom of God, and he could not, with his present spouse, 
refrain himself from fornication, unchastity, and adultery, 
therefore he was anxious to employ the means which God 
had allowed, that he might be delivered from this wretched 
state of things. He then, besides other reasons and examples, 
adduced the example of the patriarchs, whom God had per- 
mitted to have more than one wife, and requested that Luther, 
Philip and Bucer would give him a testimony, that it would 
not be sinful in him to follow this example ; that they should, 
moreover, publicly by writings, and in their sermons, state 
what was right in such a case ; or, if this would be prejudicial 
to the Gospel, they should give him a written testimony, that 
if he did so secretly, he would not sin against God, and that 
they also deemed it to be a marriage. His present spouse he 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



would not on that account treat ill, or show her less kindness 
than before. They should by all means advise and counsel 
him in this matter, which was not against God. that he might 
live and die with a joyful conscience, and be able to engage 
in all evangelical affairs, with so much the more zeal and 
christian spirit. That they ought not to be influenced too 
much by the world, and worldly fear, in this matter, but rath- 
er look to God, and see what he enjoined, prohibited, permit- 
ted, and allowed. That if he did not find help with the 
theologians, he would seek it from the emperor, who would 
perhaps do nothing in the matter, without the pope's dispen- 
sation. And although he considered neither this nor the 
emperor's permission to be of any avail, if he did not know that 
the step was approved of God, the emperor's consent, he said, 
was still not to be despised, as far as men were concerned. 

In their reply, of the 10th of December, Luther and Melanch- 
thon, in the first place, pointed out the great difference between 
establishing a law, and in a particular case, for important rea- 
sons, though in accordance with divine 'permission, using a 
dispensation, for without God's permission, they said, no dis- 
pensation would be of any avail. To establish it as a law, 
that every one should be allowed to have more than one wife, 
this they could not advise ; if they should publish anything on 
the subject, however, it would be regarded and received as a 
general rule, and be the occasion of much scandal and embar- 
rassment of conscience. " To say, in opposition, however," — 
continued they, — " that what is right in the sight of God, must 
be absolutely allowed, this must have its limits. If God has 
enjoined it, or it is necessary, it holds good ; but if he has 
not enjoined it, and it is not necessary, other circumstances 
must also be taken into consideration. As concerning this 
question : God has designed marriage to be a union only of two 
persons, and not of more, which would still be absolute if t he na- 
ture of man were not depraved. For this is the intent of the 
declaration : They two shall be one jiesh. And at first this was 
observed ; but Lamech introduced the custom of having a plu- 
rality of wives, and this is related of him in the Scriptures as 
an innovation against the primitive rule. Afterwards this be- 
came general among the unbelieving, till Abraham and his 
descendants also took more wives than one. And it is true 
that this was afterwards allowed in the laws of Moses, as the 
text says, Deut. xxi. : If a man have two wives, &c, for God 



THE LAST YEARS Of LUTHEr's LIFE. 593 

yielded somewhat to the weakness of human nature. But be- 
cause it is in accordance with the original institution and the 
creation, that a man should have only one wife, such law is 
praiseworthy, and has been received in the Christian Church, 
and no other law is to be established in opposition to it. For 
Christ repeats this declaration, Matt. xix. : And they two shall 
be one jlesh, and reminds us of what marriage properly was be- 
fore the nature of man became depraved. But that a dispen- 
sation should in particular cases be used, as when some having 
been taken as captives into foreign countries, married there, 
and being again set at liberty, brought their wives with them ; 
or when lingering weakness gives occasion, as is sometimes 
the case in leprous persons, we could not in such cases con- 
demn a man, if, with the advice of his pastor, he took an ad- 
ditional wife, not for the purpose of establishing a law, but to 
meet his necessity." — Hereupon, they represented to the land- 
grave, that, as it was one thing to introduce a law, and another 
to use a dispensation, he should, firstly, by all means, prevent 
this matter from being published to the world as a law ; but in 
the second place, to consider what occasion for scandal it would 
give, even if it were regarded only as a dispensation. Having 
then further dwelt upon this, they also prayed and exhorted 
the landgrave to shun fornication and adultery, and not to 
deem such a life, out of marriage, to be a trifling sin, as the 
world deemed it, but to bear in mind, that God would not 
make light of such sins ; they also spoke approvingly of his 
pain and sorrow on account of these sins. They further re- 
presented^ to him, that he had special need of chastity ; that, 
even if he had another wife, this would not avail him, if he did 
not earnestly strive against his evil habits and inclinations ; 
that man must curb the flesh, that, as God had by this spouse, pre- 
sented him with well-formed young lords and ladies, he should 
bear with her as others also were constrained to do in their 
marriage. That they by no means desired to allure him into 
a grievous innovation, as they had the command from the 
Word of God to regulate marriage and all human affairs ac- 
cording to the primitive and divine institution, and as far as 
possible to prevent all from taking offence. " But if your 
princely grace," say they, in conclusion, " cannot cease from 
your incontinent life, as you write that this is impossible, we 
would truly rather, on account of the salvation of your prince- 
ly grace, and for the sake of your dominions and people, wish 

38 



594 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



that your princely grace were in a state approved of God, and 
lived so as to have a good conscience. But if your princely 
grace resolve to take another wife, we conceive that it ought 
not to be divulged, as we said concerning the dispensation 
above, and that, besides your princely grace and that person, 
only several confidential persons should confessionally be ad- 
vised of the mind and conscience of your princely grace." 

The marriage of the landgrave with Margaret Yon Sala 
having on the 3d March been concluded at the Rotenburg, near 
Fill da, in presence of Melanchthon and Bucer, and the bailiff 
of Eisenach, Eberhard von Thann, Luther, indeed, wished, that 
as the landgrave considered it so highly necessary to his sal- 
vation, God might prosper the matter ; but he insisted that it 
should and must be kept secret, and not be boastingly divulged ; 
and he was exceedingly displeased, that the landgrave design- 
ed to make the matter public, yea, at a consultation held at 
Eisenach, 1 in reference to this business, (on the 20th July, 1541,) 
he declared : " That it was impossible to defend this matter 
publicly. That his and Melanchthon's influence was of no 
avail here, and before he would defend this business publicly, 
he would either deny that he and Melanchthon had given such 
an answer (it having been a secret affair, and being null and 
void as soon as it was published), or if this denial did not avail 
anything, and their answer were considered not a matter of 
the confessional, which alone it was, but an advice, he would 
rather say that he had erred and committed folly, and would ask 
forgiveness, the scandal being too great and intolerable." He 
also, when they appealed to a passage in his sermons on the 
book of Genesis, showed that this did not avail the landgrave 
anything, and he demanded that the latter should preserve the 
matter a secret, and permit polygamy to be publicly condemn- 
ed in his dominions, both b} T writing and preaching, saying in 
conclusion, however, that before God he would defend the mat- 
ter, as a confessional secret and a necessity ; but before the world 
and the now prevalent and existing law, he could not and 
would not defend it. 

But when under the false name of Louis Neobolus, a book 
was published, in which bigamy was defended, Luther wrote : 
" Whoever now desires to hear my opinion concerning this 
book, let him listen. Thus says Dr. Martin Luther concern- 
ing this book, Ncbuli : Whoever follows this book, and upon 
its authority takes more than one wife, him let Satan reward 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



595 



in the abyss of hell. Amen. This, thanks to God, I am verily 
able to maintain, and if it should rain nothing than Nebuluses, 
Louises, and devils, for a whole year, they shall make no law 
of it for me, this I will verily prevent ; much less shall they 
make a law of it for me, that a man may justly divorce him- 
self from his wife, as this prince would likewise wish to teach, 
if she does not previously by manifest adultery divorce herself." 
In the writing " Against Jack Cade," (see below, ch. 6,) he, be- 
cause duke Henry of Brunswick had denounced the landgrave 
as a bigamist and anabaptist, spoke thus concerning this mat- 
ter: "In Hesse I know of only one Lady Landgrave, w r ho is, 
and is to be called Lady and Mother in Hesse, neither may 
any other bear and bring up young Landgraves,^ancl said Lady 
is the dutchess, the daughter of duke George of Saxony. But 
that you princes, in part, walk by roads ; you have, alas, by 
your evil example, produced such a state of things, that the 
peasant will scarcely deern it a sin any more, and you have put 
so many obstacles in our way, that with all our labour, we can 
scarcely maintain marriage as a praiseworthy and honourable 
institution, or rather again establish it as such." 

Of the convention which was to be held at Schmalkalden, 
in March, 1541, and where measures for arranging existing 
difficulties were also to be discussed, Luther promised him- 
self nothing, for with the papists, he on the 18th January 
wrote to the elector, it was a desperate affair ; they were 
hardened, he said, and strove against the acknowledged truth. 
That he was indeed willing to proceed thither with the rest, 
but did not see the need of this ; that it would not matter much 
either, if he did for once shut his eyes. He praised God that 
M. Philip and Dr. Jonas, &c, were sufficient, and were well 
versed in this business. The elector excused him too, and he 
himself, although he had been willing to proceed with the rest, 
was glad that he had remained at home, for he became unwell, 
and his Kate, who had been most dangerously ill, had just then 
again arisen, as if from the dead. Melanchthon wrote to him 
what was doing at the council, and how the emperor had of- 
fered to treat concerning the peace of the Church. But he 
said, that intercession ought to be made for the emperor : that 
it was no small miracle, that God had for so many years re- 
strained the hand of the emperor, so that the cardinals and 
popes had in vain raved and urged him on, and for this, thanks 
ought to be returned to God. But come what might, prayer, 



59(1 THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 

which alone was the almighty emperor in human affairs, could 
accomplish everything. 

In the beginning of June, Melanchthon again was required 
to proceed to Hagenau, whither the Roman king, Ferdi- 
nand, had summoned a convention ; but on his way he was 
taken so violently ill at Weimar, more from trouble, on 
account of the scandalous business of the landgrave, 2 than 
from other causes, that he became completely exhausted, and 
nothing but certain death seemed to await him. Luther, who 
had already written to him a letter of consolation, was, in 
connection with Cruciger, directed by the elector to proceed 
to Weimar. Having now arrived, he found things to be in 
the condition which had been reported to him. For his eyes 
were sunk, all understanding had vanished, language had for- 
saken him, his hearing had failed him, his countenance was un- 
bent and fallen, and as Luther said, fades erat Hippocratica. 
He recognised no one, ate and drank nothing. Luther behold- 
ing him thus irrecognisable, was terrified exceedingly, and said 
to his fellow travellers : Good God, how has Satan abused 
this instrument forme !" then instantly turning to the window, 
he earnestly prayed to God : " There," said Luther — " I have 
earnestly appealed to our Lord God. I have approached him 
with great boldness, and held up to him all his promises to hear 
prayer, which I could enumerate from the Holy Scriptures, so 
that He was constrained to hear me, if I was at all to trust 
his Word." L T pon this he took Philip by the hand, and 
said: "Bono animo esto, Philippe, non morieris /" (Be of good 
cheer, Philip, thou wilt not die !) Although God would have 
cause to kill, he still does not wish the death of the sinner, but 
that he turn himself and live. He delights in life and not in 
death. If God again graciously called and received the 
greatest sinners that have ever dwelt upon the earth, as Adam 
and Eve, much less will he reject thee, my Philip, or suffer 
thee to perish in sin and melancholy. Therefore do not yield 
to the spirit of sadness, and do not become a murderer of thy- 
self, but trust in the Lord, who can kill and make alive again, 
injure and bind up, wound and heal again." For Luther well 
knew the concern of his heart and conscience. As Luther thus 
seized him by the hand and addressed him, Philip again began 
to breathe, but it was not till after some time that he could 
speak. Upon this he straightway cast his eyes upon Luther, 
and began to pray him for God's sake, not to keep him back 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER's LIFE. 



597 



any longer, that he was now on a pleasant journey, he should 
permit him to depart ; that nothing better could at any rate 
happen unto him. " By no means, Philip," — said Luther, — 
"you must still further serve our Lord God." Thus Philip be- 
came more and more lively, and Luther caused some food to 
be quickly prepared for him, and brought it to him himself, but 
Philip refused to take it. Upon this Luther menacingly urged 
him and said : " Do you hear me, Philip ? you must absolutely 
eat for me, or I will excommunicate you." With these words 
he was prevailed upon to eat, though but very little, thus grad- 
ually again gaining strength. Melanchthon, after his recove- 
ry, declared that he could truly say, that he had been called 
back from death into life by the power of God : and that if 
Luther had not come, he would have died. Luther himself, 
however, informed his wife, ("the rich Lady of Zulsdorf, Lady 
Catherine Luther, bodily dwelling at Wittenberg, but spiritual- 
ly at Zulsdorf,") that although with regard to the diet of Ha- 
genau, labour and troubles were lost, he had nevertheless, if 
nothing further had been accomplished, again brought Magis- 
ter Philip up from hell, and would, if God permitted, joyfully 
bring him home again from the grave. 

In the fall of this year, the colloquium, which was appoint- 
ed at Hagenau, was held at Worms. From Wittenburg Me- 
lanchthon and Cruciger went to attend it. Luther gave them 
his blessing, and said : " Proceed thither in the name of God, 
as ambassadors of Jesus Christ, and keep firmly to the simple 
Word ; give away nothing that belongs to our Lord Christ, for 
you have no authority to do so. In other respects, be not 
wanting in that which tends to a good understanding and to 
union ; Christ, with his spirit and angelic watchmen, will be 
with you, and my prayers and aspirations I will add thereto, as 
long as I live. The adversaries are put to flight ; they have 
an evil conscience, and deal in deceit and crafty and cunning 
manoeuvres ; but He that is alone wise and prudent, will take 
them in their craftiness, revealing their folly to every one, and 
speedily bringing all their counsels to nought ; He does not 
sleep nor slumber, but gives his spirit to those that cry unto 
him ; He will also give you speech and wisdom, against which 
they will not be able to advance anything substantial." 
He was rejoiced that his friends wrote to him so faithfully and 
diligently from Worms, that they harmonized so well, and 
that the Spirit of Christ showed himself present among them ; 



598 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER's LIFE. 



the rest, he thought, might eventuate as it might, for he did 
not, he said, expect much good from the emperor Charles and 
king Ferdinand, because their hands were stained with inno- 
cent blood. *' For the sake of good appearance," said he at 
table, in reference to the religious colloquiums, " it will not do 
to refuse colloquiums and friendly negotiations, neither will 
these negotiations be wholly without fruit, if we only simply 
and frankly confess the truth. But to an agreement it will not 
come in this matter, for the Son of God himself declared this 
war and strife between the seed of the woman and the serpent 
in paradise, and the contest will not be calmed nor ended, till 
the Son again appears, and is heard in the clouds, and impar- 
tially and finally determines the matter. Meanwhile, no one 
will unite our Lord Christ and Belial, even if all sensible and 
reasonable men joined together for this purpose. Christ has a 
good cause and a straight sceptre, therefore he cannot and 
will not yield or conoede anything to his enemies. And Be- 
lial, on the other hand, will not acknowledge to have done 
anything wrong, or to step out of any one's way, till he is 

compelled to do so at the last day." "It is one of 

the greatest follies of the wise and shrewd world, to attempt 
a union between the members of Christ and the imps of 
Satan. You will find too that it will come to nothing; we 
must patiently wait for the Supreme Judge and his decision ; 
he will make an end of the business, and fulfil the word of 
the bishop of Salzburg, condemning one part and banishing 
them to the fires of hell, there the matter will be arranged 
and composed," &c. 

On the 18th January, a command of the emperor had been 
declared to the princes and estates at Worms, that the collo- 
quium w T hich had been opened should not progress any further 
this time, but should be deferred to the diet to be held at Rat- 
isbonne. And although Luther had prayed the elector to ex- 
cuse Melanchthon and Cruciger from this journey, because the 
interests of the university required that the}" should remain at 
Wittenberg, the elector nevertheless conceived it necessary, 
and ordered Ihem to be at Altenberg by the 16th March. 

Luther was exceedingly dissatisfied with the book, which 
was, according to the wish of the emperor, to be made the 
basis of the colloquium, 3 because it took from the papistical 
doctrines all that was objectionable, and so glossed them over 
that they appeared plausible. He also earnestly warned against 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



599 



the counsels of the landgrave, who had said, that in those articles, 
which concerned conscience and the salvation of the soul, and 
were founded in God's Word, he would not indeed yield an 
iota, though he would in neutral things, and disputes about 
words, both for the sake of peace, and for the sake of the spread 
of God's Word. "I am indignant at the landgrave and his 
friends," he wrote, " that they thus reverse the Lord's prayer, and 
first seek peace and quiet, unconcerned as to the chief part, 
namely, the name, kingdom, and will of God. Of what avail is it 
to strain out gnats and to swallow camels ? If they wish to 
have union in religion, let them begin with the principal parts, 
the doctrines and the sacraments ; if they once are agreed 
upon these, other outward things which they call neutral, will 
arrange themselves, as has been the case, in our churches ; 
then God would be in the union, and there would be perma- 
nent peace and quiet. But where the important things are dis- 
regarded, and neutral matters arranged, there God is forgot- 
ten, and the peace would be a peace without God, instead of 
which we should prefer to have all manner of strife. It will 
still be as Christ says, Matt. ix. : The piece of new cloth on an 
old garment makes the rent worse, and new wine breaks old bottles. 
Either make it wholly new, or dispense with patching, as we 
have done, otherwise all your labour is lo^st. I fear that the 
landgrave is permitting himself to be drawn, and would like 
to draw us with him. But he has (I conceive) drawn us 
quite enough in his business ; he shall draw me no more. I 
would sooner again take the matter wholly to myself, and 
stand alone, as in the beginning. We know that it is the 
cause of God ; he has begun it ; he himself has thus far con- 
ducted it, and will conduct it to the end. Whoever will not 
follow, let him stay behind ; neither the emperor, nor the 
Turks, nor all devils combined, shall gain anything here, 
befall us on account of it what God may dispense. It vexes 
me that they look upon these matters as if they were tem- 
poral, imperial, Turkish, princely affairs, concerning which 
reason can treat and arrange, and from which it can give and 
take. It is a business in which God and Satan, with the 
angels, on both sides, are engaged ; whoever does not believe 
this will accomplish little good here." His Melanchthon, on 
the other hand, who had on the way sustained an injury in his 
right hand, through the upsetting of the carriage, he comfort- 
ed and wrote : " Although I sympathize with yon as regards 



600 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE* 



your fractured hand, I still do not trust either you or my au- 
guries. Our cause is not directed by chance, but according to 
a certain counsel, and that not our own, be it never so good, 
but wholly according to God's counsel. The Word runs, 
prayer blazes forth, hope endures, faith overcomes, so that we 
can see and feel it ; and if we were not flesh, might sleep and 
rest, bearing in mind the Word in Moses : " You shall be quiet ; 
the Lord will fight for you" He wished that the negotiations, 
the beginning of which Melanchthon had reported to him, 
might succeed well, and to his friends he said : " The Lord, 
who has called and sent you, whose messengers, disciples and 
martyrs you are in this holy cause, guide and preserve you un- 
blamable to the end, that you may produce much fruit. With 
these our sighs, we are in the midst of you, and in the midst of 
the wolves, and He whom we call ours, who knows our desires, 
from whom our desires are not concealed, knows what the 
Spirit desires for you, namely, that the name, kingdom, and 
work of God may be furthered forever." 

When in the conference of the committee, they had agreed 
upon a formula in regard to the doctrine of justification, with 
which the elector of Saxony was dissatisfied, because it de- 
parted from the words of the confession, Luther, in an opinion 
submitted in connection with Bugenhagen, did indeed agree 
that this formula of union was a prolix and patched-up affair, 
by which nothing was gained, and that it was necessary to 
abide in the formula and declaration : We hold that a man is 
justified through faith, without the deeds of the law; but he 
nevertheless added: We pray your electoral grace, by no 
means to write too severely to M. Philip and our friends, that 
he may not again grieve himself to death. For they have still 
reserved the precious Confession, and have in this respect still 
remained pure and firm, even if every thing else should be 
wanting. The discussion will still bear its fruit to the injury 
of the papacy, as Christ says, 2 Cor. xii. 9 : My strength is 
mighty in the weak. As Christ also has thus far always been 
weak in us, and yet debased the mighty. Thus it is his way 
to deal, that we may not become puffed up, and boast, as if 
we had accomplished anything in these weighty affairs of the 
divine majesty." He greatly praised the emperor, who had 
caused the theologians on both sides to come into his cabinet, 
and had told them that they should lay aside all personal feel- 
ings and considerations as regarded their own princes, have 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER 5 S LIFE. 



God alone before their eyes, and seek the truth, to the salva- 
tion of the Church and of the commonwealth ; but he never- 
theless had his suspicions, for even if the emperor was willing, 
he thought the rest would not be of the same mind with him. 
But as the emperor had said that the colloquium should not be 
a compulsory matter, but should be left to the option of the 
electors and princes, he said that they ought likewise to show 
themselves friendly and well-disposed. That the emperor was 
certainly, by this colloquium, playing legerdemain with the 
pope, which the latter would not relish much, unless the whole 
matter had been previously so arranged between them. 

On the 1st June, the ambassadors of the elector at Ratis- 
bonne wrote to him of their having been confidentially in- 
formed, " that his imperial majesty 4 designed quite shortly to 
send several persons, as prince John of Anhalt, Matthias von 
der Schulenburg, and Alexander Alesius Scotus, thence to Dr. 
Martin Luther, with directions to prevail upon him to consent 
to, or to tolerate several articles in religion which it had not 
been possible to obtain from M. Philip and the envoys, and 
that they should so arrange their journey, as to enable 
themselves to return again in fifteen days." They reported 
this, that the elector might have knowledge of this matter, and 
also graciously caution Dr. Martin in reference to it, by the 
transmission of the enclosed letter from M. Philip. The elec- 
tor also immediately did this, and Luther replied, that he was 
very much surprised that an embassy should be sent to him, 
although the last communications had nevertheless excited 
strange thoughts in his mind. That they might come in the 
name of God. That it was the same game which they had 
played with him at Worms, where they also had attempted to 
catch him in his words. But that Christ would prove victo- 
rious. That he would do as the elector had advised, as he was 
prepared and quite displeased, that they had begun so ami- 
cably and yet meant it so inimically. On the 9th June the 
ambassadors arrived at Wittenberg, they having further ad- 
ded to their ^number the Cathedral Provost, Prince George of 
Anhalt, and on the following day, they, in the name of the 
elector, and the margrave of Brandenburg, made known to 
Luther the object of their embassy. After they had stated 
what had been done at the diet, more particularly in reference 
to the chief articles of faith, but especially of justification, and 
reported the consultations held with regard to them, that sev- 



602 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER's LIFE. 



eral articles, moreover, concerning which there was no union 
with the papists as yet, had been committed to them, as being 
of the same faith, for representation to him ; they prayed that 
because the doctor had first through divine grace and illumina- 
tion, brought these doctrines to light, he would afford his aid, that 
christian, admissible means might be devised, to enable these 
wholesome doctrines still farther to spread, as it was to be 
hoped, that then also the remaining abuses would be put 
away, or that, if in all this final union could not be establish- 
ed, there might at least be toleration, as far as it was possi- 
ble, for the sake of charity. That it was required to bear 
with those who were not yet sufficiently instructed, that it 
was also impossible for his imperial majesty himself to abolish 
everything. They represented what calamity might flow 
from it, if union were not established, and if the diet should 
separate without being productive of any good, appealing also 
to the declaration of the doctor, that if the truth were permit- 
ted to be taught in its purity, and the people obtained the 
communion, patience might be exercised with regard to the 
other articles. Therefore they prayed, in conclusion, that the 
doctor would himself designate proper ways and means, which 
the aforesaid electors and princes would diligently promote, 
that the disputed articles might be cut off, or at least good 
regulations might be adopted. That they, however, sought 
nothing further than what might be accomplished without 
disparaging God's Word,- or giving offence 

To this, Luther replied : That he had, in the first place, with 
joy, heard of his imperial majesty's anxious desire for union 
in the Church and peace in the realm. That he also boasted 
of earnestly desiring these two things, for which his first and 
humble prayer daily ascended to God. That it in the second 
place also afforded him joy to hear of the union on those four 
articles ; that he, however, had not seen any of the formulas, 
except that concerning justification. That the union with the 
other side, however, was impossible, even for the emperor, 
because they did not earnestly desire to be united in accordance 
with the will and truth of God, and perhaps, also, they wished 
in this way to impose upon the emperor. For that if they were 
earnest in the matter, they would not hesitate to be united on 
the other ten articles, as they well knew that the whole ten 
were powerfully and irresistibly condemned by the four arti- 
cles on which they had agreed, especially the one concerning 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER^ LIFE. 



603 



justification. That he also, as regarded the article concerning 
justification, disapproved of it, that free-will was embraced in 
it, and that the passage, Gal. v. 6, was adduced, whilst it did 
not at all apply, since Paul did not say : That faith justified 
through love ; but, That faith works through love, acts through 
love. That he, in the third place, was very willing to give 
advice if he could, as to how an arrangement might be made 
with regard to those ten articles, in order that the diet might 
not separate without accomplishing some good. That he had 
not yet seen all the ten articles, as the theologians on the other 
side had drawn them up. Those which had been drawn up 
by their party he had seen, and they pleased him, and were in 
accordance with the truth. That if his imperial majesty could 
not induce the other party to form a true and sincere union, 
all labour would be in vain, as there were some among the 
ten articles upon which they were not agreed, which mani- 
festly and clearly strove against the first commandment, so that 
there could be no disputation or toleration with regard to them. 
That there existed no cause that would make such toleration 
excusable before God, inasmuch as there was merely a de- 
signed tyranny on the other side. That the latter would also 
so construe this tolerance as to consider themselves authorized 
to keep their people, even if these had already been instructed 
and established in the truth, enslaved in such articles. That 
it was indeed necessary to bear with the weak, who had not 
thus far heard God's Word, till they would also become 
strong ; but that they would not become strong, if the first 
four articles were not also preached in their purity by the 
other party, especially the article concerning justification. 
That if his imperial majesty decreed this, and caused it to 
be observed, they would deprive the ten of their spirit, and 
teachers and hearers would, through the daily exercise in such 
doctrine, soon become stronger, and increase in strength daily. 
But that if those four articles were not taught in their purity, 
and such preachers were not appointed on the other side, as 
would in their sermons inculcate these four articles in their 
purity, the toleration would tend only to confirm them in 
eternal obduracy. That if it were permitted to preach the 
four articles in their purity, his imperial majesty might in his 
decree append a more yielding remark with regard to the ten 
articles, for instance: That although his imperial majesty had 
not been able to have them arranged this time, it was still to 



604 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



be hoped that if it was permitted by the other party to preach 
the first four in their purity, the union with regard to the ten 
would of itself speedily follow from the plain preaching and 
inculcation of the four, and the application of them. 

Soon after this, Luther expressed himself greatly exaspera- 
ted at the emperor, whom he called a consummate h}-pocrite *, 
comforted Melanchthon, who was greatly distressed, and call- 
ed upon his friends to return home, as he also had prayed the 
elector to call them away. This he did once more on the 
29th June, because they had at any rate done all they could, 
and the business had now been referred to the princes on both 
sides. That, if the emperor, or those who managed the busi- 
ness in his name, were sincerely desirous of union, it certainly 
would with God, or in the name of God, be accomplished ; in 
plain German, they would first have to become reconciled to 
God, publicly acknowledging that they had proceeded too far 
in the matter hitherto. That their theologians would also 
have to give God the honour, and confess, that they had not 
taught thus hitherto, as their own books were extant, testifying 
in mass against them. That if they would not retract, but 
creep behind the curtain and adorn themselves, it was evident 
that they dealt in nothing but falsehoods and Mayence tricks. 
Wherefore the best thing would be to send them the Confes- 
sion and Apology, and to signify to them that there could be 
no departure from these 

About this time, Luther also wrote to the elector in reference 
to Melanchthon, stating, that the latter would not omit the 
Greek lecture, because the elector had added one hundred 
florins to his salary, and he would not accept these if he was 
not to be Greek lecturer, and thus save the university and the 
elector the salaiy. " The matter therefore is this," — said Lu- 
ther, — "that your electoral grace distinctly declare, whether 
M. Philip may with a good conscience accept the additional 
one hundred florins, though he should no longer attend to the 
Greek lecture, except in as far as he might of his own accord 
lecture on some Greek authors, as he has done hitherto. I con- 
ceive that he has thus far done enough, having now for twen- 
ty years and more performed so much labour in the universi- 
ty, that he might well in part accept of rest, as there are 
young Magisters, thanks to God, who understand Greek, and 
his disciples might very well supply the lecture. For your 
electoral grace well knows what a famulus communis he has 



THE LAST YEARS OP LI/THERMS LIFE. 605 

been in this university, so that he is well worthy of what, 
your electoral grace so graciously bestows upon him, and of 
the gratitude which Christendom shows him ; the papists also 
now, thank God, fear him and his disciples, more than they do 
any one else among the learned. Your electoral grace will, 
no doubt, graciously consider and arrange this matter, for 
your electoral grace must, after all, be the highest rector, pas- 
tor and treasurer in these dominions," 

In the election of a bishop for Naumburg and Zeitz, Luther 
with his colleagues endeavoured to moderate the ardour of the 
elector ; but when the latter had nominated Nicholas Amsdorf, 
till then pastor and superintendent at Magdeburg, as bishop, 
Luther, on the 20th January, 1542, attended at his consecration 
and preached in the cathedral on the occasion. He also after- 
wards published a treatise, entitled : An Example of Conse- 
crating a true Christian Bishop, in which he treats of these 
questions : Whether they had been authorized, in opposition to 
the. free choice of the chapter, as it was called, to elect an- 
other bishop; whether the members and estates of the diocese 
might, without violating their oaths, have sworn another 
bishop ; and whether the bishop had done right in receiving 
the ordination from such condemned heretics. Amsdorf, who 
loathed the princely pageantry and glitter of the episcopal 
office, and called them a burthen, he quieted in reference to this, 
and said : that it was right thus to use the world as if we did 
not use ft. He, however, absolutely refused to accept of a pre- 
sent of wild game from Amsdorf, because the latter had, as he 
said, from a rich preacher become a poor bishop, and in order 
not to give the great lords any occasion for calumny, who. 
without any scruples of conscience, had devoured everything, 
but would consider it a great crime in him to accept of a 
hare or wild boar by way of a present. " Let them riot," — 
added he, — " in God's, or any other's name, so that we are not 
calumniated as rioting with them." 

When in this year (1542) a contention arose between the 
elector and duke Maurice of Saxony, in reference to the so- 
vereignty of the town of Wurzen, so vehement, that it nearly 
occasioned an open war: Luther addressed a communication to 
the two princes and their estates, in which he said : That al- 
though it did not behoove him as a preacher to have anything 
to do with such worldy affairs, God's Word, nevertheless, com- 
manded the preachers and the whole Church to be concerned 



606 THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 

for the temporal rulers, and to pray for peace and quiet upon 
the earth. One part of this duty, namely, prayer, had been 
attended to. and was still daily attended to. That they were, 
however, also, in the second place, in all manner of trials to 
make known God's Word and commands, whether to comfort 
the distressed, or to admonish those that were tempted, or to 
terrify those that were obstinate, &c. That he might therefore 
do his part, and excuse his conscience before God, he prayed 
the princes graciously to hear him, as he would not speak his 
own. but God's Word. " He accordingly says : Blessed are the 
peace-makers, f or they shall be called the children of God. Matt, 
v. 9. It will undoubtedly, on the other hand, also be said : 
Cursed are the peace-breakers, for the}* shall be called the chil- 
dren of the devil. Such declaration, because it proceeds from 
God the Almighty himself, will regard no distinction of per- 
sons, no matter how elevated they may be, but will subject all 
to itself, and require them to observe peace, on the peril of 
losing eternal salvation ; or, what is the same thing, the Sonship 
with God. Therefore the first thing required of them was, 
above all things, to seek peace, and do all to promote it ; for 
God said : As far as it is possible for you, have peace with all 
men : therefore, one party should offer peace and justice to the 
other, or in the reverse, incur eternal damnation. That the 
law also prevented a man from being judged in his own cause, 
much more from being his own avenger, and God had strictly 
prohibited revenge. That if every one was to be his own 
judge, avenger, yea, God himself, over his neighbour, there 
would indeed be no need of law, government, or of God him- 
self. That in this sudden division, however, no law or inves- 
tigation had been resorted to, much less had an upright decision 
been pronounced, whilst there were ways enough open for previ- 
ously and thoroughly investigating right and wrong, so that do- 
minions and people, bod)- and soul, might not thus, to the honour 
of Satan and the reproach of God, be sacrificed for the sake 
of an uninvestigated, unexamined, and unknown right. 

" Verily," continued he, " the little town of Wurzen is not 
worth the expense which has already been incurred on ac- 
count of it ; such great wrath between such great and mighty 
princes and noble states, and among rational people, would 
only be looked upon precisely as if two drunken peasants 
cuffed one another in an alehouse on account of a broken 
glass ; or two fools, for the sake of a piece of bread ; except 



TliE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



60? 



that Satan with his imps would like to blow up a great fire 
from such a spark, thus preparing joy for the enemy, laughter 
for the Turks, and an especial reproach for the Gospel, that 
the devil might boast through his blasphemous tongues : Be- 
hold, those are your evangelical princes and states, who pre- 
sume to show the whole world the way to heaven, and to 
teach all men the truth, and have become such fools and chil- 
dren, that they themselves do not yet know even how to ma- 
nage insignificant worldly affairs with justice and reason ; oh 
wretched evangelicals ! Yes, verily, such reproach we would 
have to bear from the devil and all the world. And it would 
exceedingly displease God that his name should be thus dis- 
- honoured through us. Rom. ii. 24. This war, moreover, if 
rightly considered, would, as both parties well know, not be a 
war, but a veritable insurrection ; yea, a domestic insurrec- 
tion, in which father and son, brothers and cousins, assail one 
another. For the two principalities are so intimately con- 
nected, that they may well be called one house, one blood, 
from the highest to the lowest. There are the two princes, sons 
of two sisters ; then the nobility is so intimately interwoven 
and connected as brothers, sisters, and cousins, that it may 
well be called one house, one blood ; and brothers and pea- 
sants have also exchanged their sons and daughters in mar- 
riage, so that the union cannot be more intimate." 

"I therefore humbly pray your electoral and princely graces, 
- that you would consider the honour of God and your salva- 
tion, and not bring upon these noble and praiseworthy princi- 
palities such eternal dishonour and reproach ; that you would 
also remember your wretched subjects, and making the sign 
of the eross before you against the devil, at least so far regard 
my humble entreaty, as to enter into your closet alone, and 
earnestly to pray the Lord's prayer : then, by the grace of 
God, the Holy Spirit will change the hearts of your electoral 
and princely graces. All pious hearts also in both states should 
do the same : the other mad dogs may meanwhile curse, and 
distress themselves with their god, the devil, whom God, our 
Father, can well trample under our feet." " But," added he, 
" if one prince or state should refuse peace and justice, ob- 
stinately resisting God, and gratifying personal wrath and re- 
venge ; in this case he would side with the part that offered 
peace and justice, whether it were the elector or the duke ; 
for that, even if the other part had the greatest right, it would 



GC3 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER'S LIFE. 



still condemn itself, by interfering with the exercise of God's 
power, attempting to be its own judge and avenger, and thus 
constraining the opposite side to take up arms in self-defence." 
To those who defend themselves only from necessity, and are 
willing to submit to justice, he promises forgiveness of sin, and 
calls upon them to be confident and undismayed ; whoever 
would die, would die happily, as in obedience and necessary 
defence, to protect his prince and country. To the revengeful 
and implacable, however, he declares, that they had excommu- 
nicated themselves, and subjected themselves to the wrath of 
God, and if they should die in the war, would have to be eter- 
nally damned. " May the God of mercy," says he in conclusion, 
" send his angel of peace to establish true union, both between 
the princes and the states, as we boast ourselves of one faith 
and one Gospel. Amen.'* 7 

Because at the diet of Spires, (in the year 1544,) it had been 
enjoined upon the estates to cause a draft of a reformation to 
be drawn up by learned and peaceable men among them- 
selves, and to have consultations held as to how the disputed 
articles might be composed, till a general council was held ; 
the Wittenberg theologians had, previously to the diet of 
Worms, (1545,) upon command from the elector, put together 
their views concerning christian ecclesiastical government and 
christian reformation, and distinctly stated, upon what by the 
grace of God they meant finally to insist, saying at the same 
time, that, although it was not to be hoped, that the bishops 
and the unlearned, wicked, haughty chapters, would receive 
christian doctrines and ceremonies, and abide in them ; they 
had nevertheless made an humble offer, and proposed a mild 
reformation to them, that they might not strive after high 
stations or wealth, or be the cause of division. This draft of a 
reformation, which Melanchthon had drawn up, was also sub- 
scribed by Luther ; but when, in February, 1545. chancellor 
Briick addressed Luther in the church, and told him that many 
were of opinion, that more ought to be yielded than had been 
done in the draft, Luther replied : That others might establish 
or do what they would, but that neither he nor his colleagues 
could in the least swerve or depart from that which God, 
through his prophets, had revealed from the beginning of the 
world, and at last had declared through his only begotten and 
dearly beloved Son, and caused to be published to the whole 
world through his apostles. That it was impossible to preserve 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LTPE. 



God's Word and a good conscience, and at the same time to 
gain the favour of the world and the praise of moderation. 

The Council of Trent Luther derided ; and when they wrote 
from the diet of Worms, that the emperor greatly insisted that 
the Protestants should consent to the council, and was dis- 
pleased because they refused, he thought : "I do not know 
what a strange thing this is. The pope exclaims, that we 
have no seat in the council, and the emperor insists that we 
are to consent to the council and its decrees. If we are to ap- 
prove of such a council, why did we not twenty-five years 
ago approve of the lord of the councils, the pope and his balls ? 
Let the pope first acknowledge that the council is above him, 
and let him hear the council against himself, as his con- 
science testifies against him ; then we will discuss the whole 
question. They are insane and foolish. God be praised." 

Authorities. — Corp. Ref. T. III. p. 894, seq. Seckend. Jib. III. p. 
277, seq. 281. Vol. 21, p. 397. Let. No. 1912, 15,16,17. Corp. 
Ref. T. III. p. 955, 1008, seq. Let. No. !92L XVII. p. 1061,77. 
Let. No. 1944. iMathes. 13. Pred. Let. 1960. Mathes. ib. Corp. 
Ref. T. IV. p. 79, 103, 118. Let. 1971, 75, (Seckend. lib. III. p. 
354;) 1976, 77, (Corp. Ref. T. IV. p. 142,) 1977. Corp. Ref. T. IV. 
p. 282. Let. No. 1987, 85, 92. Corp. Ref. T. IV. p. 379, 385. 
(Let. 193,) 399, seq. Works, vol. 21, p. 405, seq. Let. 1995, 96, 99, 
2000, 2008. Seckend. lib. Ill . p. 392. Treatise : Example of con- 
secrating a true Christ. Bish. Works, vol. 21, p. 412. Let No. 2113, 
2045, 46, 2059. Seckend. Jib. III. p. 521. Corp. Ref. T. V. p. 577. 
Seckend. p. 556. Let. No. 2280, 82. 

Notes. — 1.) 44 According to a letter of the Dutchess Elizabeth, Lu- 
ther received the Hessian theologians (who had given their consent to 
the scandalous step of the landgrave, and defended it) and the chancel- 
lor of Eisenach, so that the tears coursed down their cheeks." Rom- 
mel's notes to the history of Hesse, p. 214. 

2. ) So much is substantiated by Melanchthon's own and others' 
declarations ; further particulars are reported by Ratzenberger : Corp. 
Ref. T. III. p. 17. 

3. ) The book meant is the so-called Ratisbonne book, afterwards also 
called the R. Interim. Corp. Ref. T. IV. p. 190. 

4. ) It was not done publicly under the name of the emperor, but with 
his knowledge. 

5. ) This is the written answer given two days afterwards. 

6. ) Comp. the lovely letter, No. 2230, when Luther had paid Ams- 
dorf a visit, and the latter had borne all the expenses of the journey, and 
also secretly packed up for him a silver can and spoons. 

7. ) This letter was to be printed, but, as peace was soon after estab- 
lished, it was suppressed. Seckend. lib. III. p. 413. 

39 



610 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



CHAPTER VL 

THE LAST POLEMICAL WRITINGS. 

In the year 1541, Luther wrote the Treatise against *Jack 
Cade,* that is, against Duke Henry of Brunswick, at Wolfen- 
buttel, 1 because the latter had again published a libellous 
book, " in which," said Luther, " he has attempted to rub his 
scab and mange against the honour of my gracious lord, the 
elector of Saxony, and also attacked and provoked me twice." 
In this treatise, he in the first place defends himself against 
the charge of having called his gracious lord, the elector, Jack 
Cade, saying, that the appellation, Jack Cade, was not one of 
his own invention, but had been employed by other men to 
designate those clownish characters who made great preten- 
sions to wisdom, and yet spoke and did the most uncouth and 
unsuited things. That in this sense he had also often employ- 
ed it, especially and most of all in his sermons. But that be- 
cause they, the devil and his Henry at Wolfenbiittel, had so 
impudently spoken what was false, and conceived that such 
foul, wretched abuse would, prove injurious to him in this cause, 
or bring honour to themselves ; they were both of them veri- 
table Jack Cades, and he wished them herewith to understand 
him as having replied to them ; that both father and son were 
desperate, infamous, mendacious knaves, who maliciously re- 
presented, that he had called his gracious lord Jack Cade. 
But that what was further said in the libellous book concern- 
ing safe-conduct, public peace, &c, did not concern him par- 
ticularly, and had been so met by the elector and the land- 
grave, that the Jack Cade of Wolfenbiittel would in vain seek 
to rescue his honour, as all sensible men testified, and the 
writings powerfully demonstrated. That in the third place, 
because he most virulently calumniated the elector as a here- 
tic, an apostate, a rebel, a monster, a Nabal, a Cain ; he, Lu- 
ther, and they all, were implicated in this : wherefore, he re- 
plied, that for himself he would wish the intoxicated Jack 
Cade nothing more willingly, than that he with his friends might 
be constrained without ceasing to write such books. That he 
would let them cry themselves hoarse, or to death, in uttering 



* In German, Hans Wurst ; literally, Jack Pudding, a foolish fellow. 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



611 



such calumnies, and meanwhile answer with the simple, easy 
word ; " Devil, thou speakest falsely ; Jack Cade, how thou 
Rest ; O Henry of Wolfenbiittel, what an impudent liar thou 
art ; thou spewest much and utterest nothing ; calumniatest, 
and provest nothing." 

Having upon this, in general, replied to all devils, papists 
and their adherents, that they so impudently spoke untruth ; and 
having shown how their libellous books and their calumnies 
ought to be matter of rejoicing, as the surest signs that the 
Evangelical Party were the blessed true Church : he states his 
intention of also presenting the reader with something useful 
and profitable, and of taking up the subject itself, namely, why 
they were denounced as heretics by the papists. To the charge 
of the papists that the Evangelical Party had fallen off from 
the holy Church and established another and a new Church, 
he replies : " Because they claim to be the true Church, they 
must substantiate their claim. If they can satisfactorily do 
this with one argument, (I do not desire many arguments,) we 
will surrender to them, come and say : Peccavimus, miserere 
nostri (we have sinned, have mercy on us.) But if they can- 
not substantiate it, they must acknowledge (whether they do 
it willingly or not) that they are not the Church, and that we 
are not heretics for separating from their wretched Church ; 
yea, because there can be no neutral ground here, we must be 
the Church of Christ, and they the Church of the devil, or the 
reverse. Therefore it all depends upon this point, that it be 
shown which is the true Church. As long as the proof is 
wanting, it is in vain that one part claims to be the Church, 
and denounces the other as heretics ; one part must be in the 

wrong itself." "But how, if 1 should prove that we have 

continued with the true ancient Church, yea, that we are the 
true ancient Church, but that yon have apostatized from us, 
that is, from the ancient Church,* and have established a new 
Church in opposition to the ancient Church ? To this let us at- 
tend." Upon this he shows that the Evangelical Party are the 
true ancient Church, being one body, and one congregation 
of the saints with the entire holy Christian Church, since they 

1. had the same ancient baptism which Christ had instituted ; 

2. the holy sacrament of the altar precisely as Christ himself had 
instituted it, and the apostles afterwards and all Christendom 
had observed it ; 3. the true ancient keys, and did not use them 
otherwise than for binding and loosing those sins which were 



G12 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



done against God's commandments ; that they desired no new 
keys, or new laws, nor did they with them exclude kings and 
lords from, or admit them into their dominions, but only sin- 
ners from and into the kingdom of heaven ; 4. the ministerial 
office and God's Word purely and richly teaching it diligently, 
and inculcating it without any addition of new invented hu- 
man doctrines, but just as Christ had commanded ; 5. the sym- 
bol of the Apostles, the ancient Creed of the ancient Church, 
so that they in all respects taught, believed, expressed and 
confessed the same as it did, introducing and adding noth- 
ing new ; 6. the same prayer with the ancient Church, the 
Lord's prayer and no newly invented or different prayer ; 
7. they taught and held with the ancient Church, that temporal 
rulers are to be honoured, and not cursed, and not to be compel- 
led to kiss the pope's feet ; 2. Pet. ii. Rom. xiii. ; 8. they extolled 
and lauded marriage as a divine, blessed, acceptable creation 
and institution for the multiplication of the human race and 
against carnal lusts ; 9. they had the same sufferings which, as 
St. Peter said, their brethren in the world had, they were per- 
secuted everywhere on account of the Word, thus faring pre- 
cisely like the ancient Church ; 10. they did not also shed blood, 
but like Christ, the apostles and the ancient Church, they suffer- 
ed, exhorted and prayed for their enemies. To the objection 
that one thing was still wanting, namely, fasting, he replied: 
14 Oh Lord God, if there is one thing which we have retained of 
the ancient Church, it is fasting, alas! If the papists have one 
part of the new Church, it is, that they do not fast, but feast on 
fast days more than on holy days. Yea, we do not only fast, 
but (with St. Paul) suffer hunger, which we daily experience 
in our poor pastors, their wives and children, and many other 
poor, of whom it is true that hunger stares from their eyes, 
that they have scarcely bread and water, and are in addition 
destitute of clothing, having nothing of their own." Then he 
demonstrates from twelve particulars that the papists are 
the new false Church, which was continually apostatizing from 
the ancient Church and becoming the devil's school and harlot. 
That they were indeed most undoubtedly baptized with the 
true baptism of the ancient Church, and that those that were 
thus baptized, lived and died till into the seventh or eighth year, 
before they understood the harlot Church of the pope had un- 
doubtedly been saved and were saved. But when they grew 
up and heard, believed and obeyed the pope's false teachings 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



613 



and devilish innovations, they fell away from their baptism 
and Bridegroom, building and trusting upon their own good 
works. That the papists had therefore indeed proceeded from 
the true Church, because they had been bathed and washed 
in baptism, but that they were no longer of the Church or mem- 
bers of the Church, because in this holy Church of God they 
established unspeakable harlotry, idolatry and innovation, b} T 
which they seduced the baptized and redeemed souls along 
with themselves, drawing them down to the abyss of hell. 
Having then shown that the papists made no distinction be- 
tween God's Word and the doctrines of men, because they offer- 
ed to yield and desired the Evangelical Party to do the same,, 
he continues : My good friends, to yield God's Word or to alter 
it, is not possible for God himself; for he cannot deny or 
change himself, and his Word continues forever. But he that 
is to change or to yield it, must have a higher power than God 
himself has ; for he would not even have changed the law of 
Moses, if he had not before through his Word promised to 

change it." " The holy Christian Church is not a reed 

or counter, no, it does not waver and does not yield, but it is 
(says St. Paul) a pillar and firm basis of truth. It stands im- 
movable, (he says,) it is a fundament, and a firm foundation, not 
false or deceptive ground, but a ground of truth, does not lie, 
does not deceive, does not deal in falsehood. But whatever 
wavers or doubts, cannot be truth. And of what use or need 
would a Church of God be in the world, if it were to waver 
or be uncertain in its words, instituting something new every 
day, now yielding this, now receiving that ? Yea, of what use 
would such a God be, who should teach us thus to waver and to 
doubt ? He at the same time refutes the objection, that it would 
do no harm to retain God's Word and likewise permit all these 
things, or some of them at least, which were allowable, to re- 
main, saying : " You hear that it cannot be, to teach something 
else as of equal authority with God's Word, to serve another 
besides God, to light another torch besides the one which God 
has placed in the darkness. It is certainly a false light and 
deceptive, and # if it were only in one single particular ; for 
the Church dares not and cannot lie or teach error ; not in a 
single point does it teach falsehood, or it is wholly false." 
Upon this he proceeds and says, that if the papists would or 
could prove that they were the true holy Church, then the 
Evangelical Party would have to acknowledge that they were 



614 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



heretics and apostates ; but that if they could not do this, they 
would in return have to confess of themselves, that they were 
Satan's harlot Church, which having forsaken Christ its Lord, 
had suffered the devil to dishonour it through new, strange 
doctrines. But that, because there was no judge in this mat- 
ter upon the earth, he would meanwhile, in addition to the 
sentence which God, the highest judge, pronounced in his 
Word, also employ their own, the papists' sentence and testi- 
mony against themselves. Having done this, he concludes : 
" As you, therefore, yourselves acknowledge, and also are com- 
pelled to acknowledge, what a filthy Church you have, I do not 
now speak of your lives, but of your doctrines, that you have 
so many shocking falsehoods and false doctrines, and besides 
refuse to forsake them ; you must necessarily also acknowl- 
edge that you are not the holy, but the devil's Church, especi- 
ally those who maintain those doctrines, and compel others to 
adopt them." In the second part of this writing, Luther de- 
fends his elector and the landgrave against the falsehoods and 
calumnies of the duke of Brunswick, relating how Tetzel with 
his indulgences, and after him the most holy father, pope Leo, 
with his untimely excommunication, had occasioned this Lu- 
theran disturbance, as he called it, and finally appends the 
64th Psalm, with the following words : 45 Hither now belongs 
the 64th Psalm ? which we are to preach and to sing, to the 
praise and honour of God, against these murderous Henrys 
and assassins ; for here you see them portrayed precisely as if 
David had designedly wished to preach concerning these last 
Henrys." In conclusion, he thus applies the Judas hymn 2 to 
Henry. 

" Oh thou wicked Henry, 

Say, what hast thou done ? 

For many pious people 

With me thou hast destroyed. 

For this thou wilt most surely 

Suffer greatest pain ; 

Lucifer's companion 

Thou must even be. — Kyrieleison. 

Oh most wretched papists, 
Say, what have you done ? 
For you the truthful Christian 
Did hate and rob of life ! 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



615 



For this you reap dishonour, 

Which ever shall endure ; 

From land to land it spreadeth 

Although you rave and rage. — Kyrieleison. 

In the same year Luther wrote an " Exhortation to prayer 
against the Turks" In it he says, that the Germans were ripe 
and full of all sin, and that the Turks would have to be their 
schoolmasters, chastising them and teaching them to fear 
God and to pray, as they would otherwise wholly decay in sin 
and security. That even if the bloody and blasphemous papists 
would not cease from blaspheming God, and ungrateful wicked 
men would not reform, honour God's" Word, and call upon God, 
the other part, the small number, should still on that account 
not despair of God ; and that, even though they were not men 
like Moses, Joshua or Elias, they were, nevertheless, the very 
people to whom God had committed his Word, and through his 
Spirit made it known, and that God would have to hear their 
prayer, just as much as the prayer of those, since he could not 
despise the members of his Church, the bride of his dear Son, 
when she earnestly cried to him. That the preachers should 
therefore exercise the two priestly offices — firstly, turn to the 
people and earnestly admonish them to repent, teaching them 
what was good and right ; secondly, turn to God and pray, that 
this might also be done, and that happiness and prosperity 
might be attained. That the people should, besides, be ex- 
horted also to pray, and therefore he proposes an order of 
divine service, to excite devotion and seriousness in the people 
through public prayer in the Church. Finally, he says, that 
the temporal estates should also do their part, take admonition 
and advice, pray, cause justice to be upheld in their dominions, 
rebuke usury and other vices, &c, and if they proceeded against 
the Turks, should not rely upon their bows and swords, since 
the Turks, like the pope and his devils, could not be discom- 
fited without God's Word. 

In the following year, Luther published " Brother Richard's 
Refutation of the Alcoran, translated into German, with a supple- 
mentary warning" that the Germans also might see what a 
shameful faith that of Mahomet was, and that they might be 
strengthened in their Christian faith, and not be disturbed by 
it ; that the Saracens and Turks had for so many hundred 
years been victorious and successful against the Christians, 



618 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



but the Christians been defeated, which had not happened 
because Mahomet's faith was true and our faith false, as the 
blind Turks boasted, but because it was God's manner thus to 
deal with his people. 

Although Luther was exceedingly displeased, when he 
heard, that in one country the pastors and ministers were to 
be required to pay the Turkish tax, whilst they had nothing of 
their own, and it was just as much as to take it from the pro- 
perty of the Church, that is, from the alms, or from before the 
feet of our Lord Christ ; he still would not for himself accept 
of the exemption from paying tax for his houses and property 
.which thedector had enjoined, (see above,) for " I would wish 
to be among those," he wrote, " who also with bodily deed 
injure the Turks or sustain injury from them. For if I were 
not too old and weak, I would wish to be personally among the 
crowd ; though my prayer has long since with the Church been 
in the field." 

Against the Jews, Luther had already, in the year 1538, 
published a Treatise, because he had heard how the Jews 
with their rabble were making inroads with their doctrines, 
and had already seduced some Christians. In this letter against 
the Sabbatarians he, in the first place, for the confirmation of 
Christians, showed how the old argument of Lyra ought to be 
drawn forth, by asking the Jews, what possibly could be the 
sin, on account of which God had so fearfully punished them, 
and caused them for so long a time to live in wretchedness, 
without priestly, princely, that is, without Mosaic institutions 
and government, without sacrifices and other observances of 
the law, but especially away from Jerusalem ; in the second 
place, he showed what answer was to be returned, when the 
Jews boasted that their law was to continue forever, and that 
we heathens would have to become Jews. 

Although he had resolved not to write anything further 
against the Jews, he nevertheless, because he had heard that 
they did not cease even to entice Christians into their snares, in 
the year 1543, published the little book concerning the Jews and 
their falsehoods, but advised all, not to dispute much with the 
Jews concerning the articles of faith, for, he said, what God 
did not with such terrible visitations cause to be reformed, 
they would not be likely to reform, whether it were through 
words or deeds. Yet to confirm our faith, he would expose 
some of the coarse follies of the Jews in their faith and expo- 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



617 



sition of the Scriptures. Upon this he, in the first part, refutes 
the claims of the Jews against the Christians, which they base 
upon their descent, upon circumcision, upon the fact, that God 
spoke with them and gave them the law, and upon the land of 
Canaan. In the second part he inquires whether the Messiah 
had come, and proves the affirmative with five passages ; in the 
third, he treats of the falsehoods of the Jews against the per- 
son of our dear Lord Jesus Christ ; in the fourth, of the differ- 
ence between the Messiah of the -Christians and of the Jews, 
and what each people seeks in its Messiah. . 

In this little book Luther also promises that he would soon 
publish the falsehoods and blasphemies of the Jews in refer- 
ence to their Shem Hamphoras. This he did in the writing 
concerning Shem Hamphoras and concerning the genealogy of 
Christ ; in the last part of which he examined the question, 
why the two evangelists, Matthew and Luke, relate the person 
or members of the lineage of our Lord Jesus Christ so 
differently. 

Also, concerning the article of the Lord's Supper, sand against 
the Reformed party, Luther was constrained once more to publish 
a confession. On the 1st December, 1537, he had replied to 
the communication which the cities of Zurich, Berne, Basle, 
Schaffhausen, St. Gall, Muhlehausen, and Biel had addressed to 
him through Bucer, 3 that it exceedingly rejoiced him to see 
them with all earnestness receiving and promoting the union. 
With regard to those who were dissatisfied with such union, 
or entertained suspicions with regard to it, he prayed them 
diligently to do their part, that those who clamoured against 
the union might desist from their clamours, as they also, the 
Wittenbergers, both in their writings and sermons, were very 
reserved, and refrained from clamouring against the Swiss. 
That they should much rather look upon him as one who was 
perfectly sincere, and did all in his power to promote the 
union. " With this," says he, in conclusion, " I commend you 
all, with all yours, to the Father of all mercy and consola- 
tion. May He, on both sides, grant us his Holy Spirit to blend 
our hearts in Christian love and fellowship, to purge out all 
remains and rust of human and diabolical malice and sus- 
picion, to the praise and honour of his holy name, and to the 
salvation of many souls, but to the vexation of the devil and 
of the pope, as well as of all their adherents. Amen." A few 
days later he also wrote to Bucer, and informed him that 



618 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER* S LIFE. 



he had replied to the communication of the Swiss ; that the 
latter, however, might, as it were, have a rudder, by which to 
steer the ship, he sent him a copy of that reply. " For," says 
he, " 1 have in all cases referred to you and Capito, because 
I did not know in what other way to write so amicably and 
mildly, since you yourselves have rendered the writing diffi- 
cult for me, through your information that some among you, 
into whose hands and to whose knowledge my writing, I pre- 
sume, will come, are still unfavourably disposed towards the 
union. But I trust that you will manage all according to the 
gift which God has given you ; I, at least, have written openly 
and without dissimulation." He at the same time also wrote 
to him that the Latin confession of the Swiss pleased him 
less than the German one of the cities, especially as regarded 
the sacrament of the altar. With the rest, he said, he was at 
the time satisfied. 

Meanwhile, the mayor, and the council of the town of Isny, 
had informed him, how it had been reported to them, that 
he had come to an agreement with the upland preachers, in 
regard to what differences there had still existed. To this, he 
replied on the 26th December, that he did not understand 
what those had meant, that had reported such a thing to 
them. That if any should accordingly boast or pretend to 
them, that he had departed from his former anti-Zwinglian 
view, they should pray them to desist from such boasting, that 
the incipient union might not be prevented, and perhaps a 
greater disunion be occasioned by it. " For I can well endure 
it," continued he, " that all, who choose, boast of great learn- 
ing, genius and sanctity, not only above me, but also above 
St. Paul ; but no one is to draw me along into his boasting, or 
say of me : that he still stands, but that I have yielded. I 
trust, nevertheless, that some among them are sincere, and 
mean it earnestly with regard to the union. God can also, 
according to his pleasure, win over the others in due time. 
This you must believe me ; and I (with the help of God.) shall 
not speak or act differently." 

On the 4th May, 1538, the above-mentioned Swiss cities in- 
formed him, that they had received his friendly and cordial re- 
ply with the highest joy and gratitude to God ; and that be- 
cause they, not only from his own communication, but also 
from the faithful statement and account of Capito and Bucer, 
were constrained to conclude, that he meant it well with re- 



THE LAST YEARS Of LUTHER* S LIFE. 



619 



gard to this holy union ; and was desirous, with a banishment 
of all former severity and suspicion, faithfully to promote it, as 
likewise, that he favourably received the confession which 
they had drawn up at Basle, and their subsequent declara- 
tion ; therefore they returned their heartfelt thanks to God, the 
Father of all peace and union, for His divine grace and kind- 
ness, in so graciously granting to them His favour, and so 
richly adding His blessing to this pious work, and thus gra- 
ciously rendering them of one mind and understanding. Ac- 
cordingly, two days later, he was able to write to duke Albrecht 
of Prussia : u As regards the Swiss, who have thus far been at 
variance with us in reference to the sacrament, the prospects 
are favourable ; may God further grant His grace. For Basle, 
Strasburg, Augsburg and Berne, together with others, have 
made acceptable overtures, which we also amicably receive ; 
and I trust that God will make an end of the strife, not for our 
sakes, for we do not deserve it, but for the sake of His name, 
and to the vexation of the monsters at Rome, for they are 
mightily terrified at this news." He, however, was also again 
made to experience, that the views of the Swiss did not yet 
coincide with his. Especially did it grieve him, that Bul- 
linger had again published the writing of Zwingli to king 
Christian, and extolled it most highly; whilst there was, never- 
theless, much contained in this writing which justly grieved 
all pious hearts. He also wrote this to Bullinger, that the 
latter might see, that he dealt with him in all candour, with- 
out any rancour. " You perhaps believe," added he, " that we 
err; that I commit to the judgment of God ; we, at least, cannot 
approve of everything you teach, without burthening our con- 
science, which you certainly will not desire of us. Still, how- 
ever, nothing more joyful could happen to me before my de- 
parture, than if, through the grace of God, that Spirit came 
over us, who would quicken my heart and my soul in the Lord, 
causing us to know and to speak one and the same thing con- 
cerning Christ, to the honour of God the Father, and to the 
salvation of men." Soon after, he also replied to the commu- 
nication of the Swiss to him ; and testified to them, that if 
there were perhaps some obstacles, yet he nevertheless trusted 
to God, that He would, in due time, cause the joyful suppres- 
sion of all error. That if he still suspected some, being in- 
duced to do so by their writings, he had informed Dr. Bucer 
of all, and as far as he could possibly bear with them he 



020 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



would do so, till they were also brought over. Finally, he yet 
prayed them, that they would, as they had begun, continue to 
promote such divine work of peace and union in the Church, 
as he also perceived that they were prepared to do with all 
joy and pleasure. 

Meanwhile, the Council of Augsburg, had dismissed the 
preacher, John Forster, whom Luther had recommended to 
them, in theyear 1535, from his office, because he had become 
involved in a dispute with the pastor, Michael Kellner, who 
defended the Zwinglian doctrine on the Lord's Supper. Con- 
cerning this dismissal, the Council of Augsburg had excused 
themselves with Luther. Luther, however, was highly griev- 
ed at this writing; and, on the 29th August, 1538, wrote to 
them, that if they themselves or their preachers were resolved 
thus to write and to speak of the union, as their writing stated, 
it would not end well; and then continued: " I therefore 
sincerely pray, that you yourselves and your preachers, would 
refrain from such language, and consider, with how much 
trouble, labour, expense and diligence on the part of many 
noble and learned men, this necessary feeble union has been 
begun. If the flames of discord should blaze forth anew with 
reference to it, and the last become worse than the first, you 
of Augsburg would have to charge yourselves with it ; of this 
I wish herewith to have faithfully admonished you." 

In the following years, the dispute concerning the sacra- 
ment was permitted to rest; he, however, did not omit to warn 
all against the error of the Zwinglians. Thus, in the year 
1539, he prayed the Count of Thurn, Francis Yon Eheva, who 
had written to him, and had suffered himself to be deceived by 
the arguments of Zwingli on the Lord's Supper, that he should 
not embrace that error, according to which mere bread and 
wine, but not the body and blood of Christ, were in the sacra- 
ment. For it verily was nothing foolish, he said, to believe that 
the body of Christ was in heaven, and at the same time also in 
the sacrament; or was not the omnipotence of God able to ac- 
complish what seemed impossible to men ? That the Lord's 
Supper was a mystery of faith, and mysteries of faith were de- 
livered and received through the Word, wherefore they could 
not be comprehended or judged by reason. That those who be- 
lieved, not those who comprehended, were to be saved. That 
the Word of God, upon the whole, would not deceive; reason, 
however, and human wisdom, were not infallible. In the 



the Last Years of luther's life. 621 

year 1541 he wrote to George Major, in reference to the Wal- 
densian (Bohemian ?) Brethren, who professed to agree with 
him on the doctrine of the Lord's Supper, but nevertheless main- 
tained that the body of Christ was only sacramentally, but not 
essentially, present in the Lord's Supper, and prayed him to call 
upon the pastor in Joachimsthal, and request him to strictly in- 
quire of them how they could venture to pretend such a thing, 
since they must remember that he had for many years already 
treated with them concerning the Word, that the body of Christ 
was " sacramentally " in the bread. Their use of the word " sa- 
cramentally" would so*long remain suspicious of him, till they 
w^ould openly and frankly confess to him that they wholly co- 
incided with his views, namely, that the body of Christ is truly 
sacramentally, that is, invisibly and for our participation, pre- 
sent in the bread, even the same true body which was born of 
the virgin, and given for us, &c. If he should find, however, 
that they had deceived him with their treacherous words, he 
would publish a writing against them and expose them before 
the whole world, as deceivers, liars, hypocrites, and by other 
names worthy of them, freeing his name and faith of their 
treacheries. 

Whilst union was accordingly established with one part of 
the Sacramentarians, particularly with those of Basle, Stras- 
burg, and Ulm, those in Switzerland, on the other hand, espe- 
cially those of Zurich, and their neighbours, persisted in their 
views, excluding the body and blood of Christ from the Lord's 
Supper, and admitting onl) bread and wine. Therefore Lu- 
ther, in the year 1543, not only exhorted the evangelical 
Christians in the Venetian territory to be on their guard, that 
no fanatical spirit might creep in among them with his decep- 
tions, but he also declared to the Zurich bookseller, Christoph 
Froschauer, who had transmitted to him a copy of Leo Jud's 
translation of the Bible, that he could have no communion 
with the Zurich preachers, and that it grieved him that they 
should thus labour wholly in vain, and yet be lost at last. 
c< They have been sufficiently admonished," continues he, " to 
desist from their error, and not thus sadly to draw the wretched 
people down to hell with them. But as no admonition avails, 
we must leave them to themselves ; therefore you need not 
send me any more presents of what they are fabricating or 
getting up. I do not wash to make myself a participant in 
their condemnation and blasphemous doctrines, but wish to 



622 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER 5 S LIFE e 



be innocent of them ; I shall pray and teach against them to 
my end." But when, in the following year, he received letters 
from Hungary, stating that a certain preacher there, Matthias 
cle Tay, who had formerly been at Wittenberg, was suspected 
of Zwinglian error, which suspicion was perhaps excited 
wholly by the j£act that they had abolished the elevation of 
the host at Wittenberg, he was necessitated not only to de- 
clare, that said preacher, whether the suspicion was just or not, 
had certainly not received the doctrine of the Sacramentarians 
from him, as it was fir ml}- opposed at Wittenberg, both in public 
and private, but he also found it necessary, in order that Satan 
might no longer in secret dishonour the Word of Truth under 
his (Luther's) name, after having already published so many 
confessions, soon after to publish one more. This he also did, 
and in the same year, (1544.) published his "Shorter Confes- 
sion, Concerning the Sacrament, against the Fanatics. In this 
writing, he confessed, at the very outset, that he, as now walk- 
ing upon the tomb, would take this testimony and name with 
him before the judgment-seat of his dear Lord and Saviour, 
Jesus Christ ; that he had condemned and shunned the fanatics, 
and the enemies of the sacrament, at Zurich, and where they 
might be. That if any one now heard it asserted that he be- 
lieved with the fanatics, him he sincerely prayed, for God's 
sake, by no means to believe it. That he, with his friends, had 
indeed done everything at Marburg that they could, in order 
richly to show them Christian love ; but that such superabun- 
dant love and humility had availed nothing, and the whole mat- 
ter had only become worse. That they had also been earnestly 
and often enough admonished, and been warned, even by 
the Holy Ghost, but all these great warnings and admonitions 
of God had been wholly lost upon them. " In short," continues 
he, " they have been proved and repeatedly convicted by me, 

as manifest blasphemers and liars." "I will, with the 

holy father Abraham, and all Christians, base myself upon 
the passage, Rom. iv. : What God speaketh he also can accom- 
plish. Again, Ps. li. : That thou mightest be justified in thy 
words, when thou art judged ; and will not first consult my 
reason, whether it is befitting or possible for me to receive his 
body and blood, sensibly, and then, as judge over God, interpret 
his words according to my conceits. No, I will not rave thus. 
He hath declared it ; this suffices for me. If he deceives me, 
I am blessedly deceived. He has never spoken what is false, 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



623 



nor can he speak what is false." Then he shows, that he who 
refuses to believe the article concerning the Lord's Supper, 
cannot well believe the other sublime articles of faith. "There- 
fore the point is, either wholly and entirely to believe every- 
thing, or to believe nothing. The Holy Ghost does not suffer 
himself to be dismembered or divided, so as to cause one 
point to be taught and believed as true, and the other as 
false." To the objection, that it certainly was not to be ex- 
pected or apprehended that God would be so exceedingly and 
fearfully severe as to condemn men on account of one article, if 
they only faithfully taught and believed all the other articles, 
he replied : " God verily can much less expect that his poor, 
wretched, blind creatures should be so insane and obstinate in 
opposition to their Creator and Lord, as to deny his divine 
Word, charge him with falsehood, and blaspheme him ; rather 
is it to be expected that his humble, submissive, obedient crea- 
tures will not deny or blaspheme a single word, but cordially 
receive all and each, and with all joy return thanks for being- 
considered worthy to hear only a single word from their gra- 
cious God ; yea, this it behooves God to expect." In conclu- 
sion, he remarks, that the belief, as if he had adopted the 
views of the fanatics, because the elevation of the host had 
been discontinued in the Lutheran churches, was unfounded, 
since the elevation was a free observance, and had been dis- 
continued simply because the majority of the churches had 
long before already omitted it. 

Because he had also been informed that the Sacramentari- 
ans had likewise stolen their way into Italy, he, under date of 
the 12th November, 1544, prayed Balthazar Alterius and his 
brethren in the faith in the Venetian territory, &c, not to suf- 
fer themselves to be deceived, whether it was by those of Zu- 
rich, or by Bullinger and Pellicanus, or even by Bucer. And 
if it should perhaps be told them that he or Philip agreed with 
their fanaticism, they should, for God's sake, not believe it. 
"For I understand," added he, " that they, or some of them, 
have circulated such a report, that they may be able to spread 
their pestilential error under our names. But do not credit 
them ; they are false prophets, who attempt to seduce the Ga- 
latians. If God permits me to live longer, I may perhaps write 
more against them." About that time 4 he also had received 
the Reformatory Articles of the Bishop of Cologne. But be- 
sides that the whole was too diffuse and prolix, and he discov- 



624 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUT1IER*S LIFE. 



ered that chatter-box, Bucer, in the game, the articles also 
displeased him, because they babbled a great deal about the 
use, fruit, and honour of the sacrament, but mumbled concern- 
ing the substance, that it was uncertain what was to be be- 
lieved in reference to it, precisely after the manner of the fa- 
natics; that it, moreover, did not testify in the least against 
the fanatics, which was nevertheless highly necessary ; and 
that it did not at all state whether the true body and blood 
were sensibly received. 44 In short/' wrote he, 4> the book is 
not only tolerable for the fanatics, but also consoling; it sus- 
tains their doctrine more than ours. Therefore I am weary 
of it, and am exceedingly provoked at it." 

When the Zurich Sacramentarians had, upon this, in the 
year 1545, written against him, both in Latin and German, 
because of his 44 Shorter Confession/' he was at first undecided 
whether he should reply to them or not ; finally, however, he 
concluded to answer them, though only briefly and off-hand, 5 
because he had already written enough against Zwingli and 
iEcolampadius, and did not wish any longer to waste his time 
with those conceited and idle brawlers. As late as the 17th 
January, 1546, (only a few weeks before his death, therefore,) 
he wrote to Jacob Probst, on this subject : 44 That you write, 
how virulently and impudently the Swiss write against me, 
and denounce me as an unhappy man, of an unhappy under- 
standing, this rejoices me exceedingly. For this 1 desired ; 
precisely this I wished to accomplish by that writing, by which 
I have so greatly exasperated them, that the}' might them- 
selves publicly testify that they are my enemies. This I de- 
sired, I say, and therefore I also am rejoiced at it. I, the most 
unhappy among men, rest contented with this blessedness of 
t\\e Psalm : Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of 
the Sacramentarians, nor standeth in the way of the Zwinglians, 
nor sitteth in the seat of those of Zurich. There you have my 
opinion." 6 

"Having thus in his old age," — says Mathesius, — 44 taken 
leave of Turks, Jews and fanatics, and firmly confessed his 
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and joyfully declared, extolled 
and praised the word of his Lord, in whose name he had been 
baptized and to whom he had in this blessed covenant, and sub- 
sequently in his doctorate, rendered a solemn oath, he in the 
45th year of his age, resolved also to take leave of the chief 
adversaries of his Lord Jesus and of himself, and to prepare a 



The last years of luther's life. 



625 



book and various representations for the Roman pope, by way 
of final leave. In reliance upon the name and the word of 
Christ, (he is reported, to have said,) I began the contest with 
the pope, and opposed his abominations and idolatrous false- 
hoods, with him I will also conclude." He accordingly pub- 
lished the powerful and severe book: Against the Papacy at 
Rome instituted by the Devil. Pope Paul the III. namely, had 
written two letters to the emperor, in which he had said, that, 
in order to avoid falling into Eli's sin, he was constrained to 
represent to him, his dear son, how he by the edict of Spires 
(in which the emperor had promised general and public peace, 
till a general, free christian council should have been held on 
German soil, and had commanded that till then no one should 
be molested in the exercise of his religion) not only incurred 
the greatest danger as to his soul, but also brought confusion 
into the Church. That it did not behoove the emperor to ap- 
point a council without the pope, and meanwhile to make any 
needful arrangements with regard to religion, &c. To this, 
Luther said he had become desirous, by the grace and help of 
God, to return an anwser. He in the first place calls upon all 
Christians, yea, all that still had natural reason, to declare if 
they understood what kind of a council that would be, in 
which the shocking monster at Rome, who called himself pope, 
reserved to himself the power to rend, alter and nullify every- 
thing that would be concluded in the council ; whether that 
was not a puppet-show, prepared as a carnival amusement for 
the pope ? He then reminds all, that the pope had, for four 
and twenty years, been entreated to hold a general, free chris- 
tian council on German soil ; that the three words, free, chris- 
tian, German, however, were nothing but poison, death and 
devil to the pope, and the Roman court, since the council of 
Constance had decreed that a council was above the pope; 
and shows, how the Roman knaves interpreted these words, 
free, christian, German. When now he came to speak of the 
declaration of the pope, that, in order not to incur Eli's pun- 
ishment, he was constrained to admonish the emperor, he re- 
plies : That the desperate knave and villain, Paul Tertius, 
was again speaking his gibberish here. In Rome, where they 
were nearly all of them much worse than in Sodom, he had 
no admonitions to give, " but on account of what the emperor 
Charles did at Spires, the heavens and the earth are about to 
crumble in pieces : here pope Paul is concerned for his dear 

40 



626 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHEr's LIFE. 



son Charles, lest some calamity may befall him. What then 
did he do at Spires, the dear son Charles ? Why, he did not 
wish to occasion a deluge of blood in Germany, in which the 
devil, the pope and the cardinals might with pleasure bathe 
themselves, and by which their wicked lives might be conceal- 
ed : but suspended the edict of Worms, which was the cause 
of all disturbance in Germany, and did so, that all might har- 
moniously co-operate against the Turks, all which a pious 
Christian emperor ought to do for the purpose of affording 
peace and protection to his country. This the wicked knave 
at Rome calls evil ; shocking sin ! Yea, what do the knaves 
at Rome call well done, if not done at Rome, &c. ?" In the 
book itself he treats of three particulars : " The first, whether 
it is true that the pope at Rome is the head of Christendom, 
above councils, emperor, angels and everything, &c, as he 
boasts of himself. The second, whether it is true, that no one 
can pronounce sentence upon him, judge him or depose him, 
as he vehemently exclaims. The third, whether it is true, that 
he has conveyed the Roman empire from the Greeks to the 
Germans, as he haughtily maintains." In concluding the book, 
he says : " Here I must pause ; by the permission of God, I 
will improve in the next book. If I die meanwhile, may God 
grant, that some one else may assail him a thousand times 
more severely. For the diabolical papacy is the greatest curse 
upon the earth, and a more pernicious institution the devils 
combined cannot produce. God help us. Amen." 

The elector of Saxony was so well pleased with this writ- 
ing, that he bought copies to the amount of twenty florins, and 
distributed them ; but not all were equally pleased with it, 
and especially were they greatly dissatisfied with it at the 
diet at Worms. King Ferdinand, nevertheless, who had read 
the whole of it, observed : " If the severe words had been left 
out, Luther would not have written badly." The ambassadors 
who reported this to the elector, added : that others also 
thought so, and were of opinion that Luther, by his vehemence, 
injured himself more than his adversaries. To this the elector 
rejoined : Dr. Martin is endowed with an especial spirit, who 
will not suffer himself to be circumscribed in this or other 
- matters ; he has also, doubtless, employed those severe words 
not without especial cause ; he is besides specially excited 
against the papacy, that he may crush it to the earth, and his 
object is not to convert the papacy, which is impossible, and 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



627 



therefore he has no need of pacific words. His object is so to 
expose it, that every one may see the abominations of the papa- 
cy, and know how to beware of them. We, for our part, con- 
ceive that the pope is worthy not only of such, and the like 
words, but even of others far more severe ; we must, however, 
endure it, if men here and there speak against such se- 
verity." 

Luther was meditating another book against the papacy ; 
but the giddiness in his head, and the mass of letters which 
he was constrained to write, and which took up all his time, did 
not permit him to execute it. He nevertheless, " in opposition to 
the thirty-tvjo articles of the Louvaine Tlieologists" published 
seventy-six other theses, the first of which run thus : " Every- 
thing that is taught in the Church of Christ, which is the peo- 
ple of God not being in accordance with God's Word, is cer- 
tainly false and unchristian. And when any such thing is ad- 
vanced as an article of faith, it is not only unchristian, but 
also heretical and devilish. Whoever believes and obeys it, is 
an idolater, and honours the devil instead of God." 

Authorities. — Treatise : against Jack Cade. Works, vol, 21, p. 
374, seq. Treatise : Exhortation to prayer against the Turks, ib. p. 390, 
seq. Treatise : Brother Richard's refutations of the Alcoran, ib. 657, 
seq. Let. No. 2026, 55. Treatise : Letter against the Sabbatarians. 
Works, vol. 21, p. 544. Treatise : Concerning the Jews and their lies, ib. 
p. 544. Treatise: Concerning Shem Hamphoras, &c. ib. p. 614. Let. 
No. 2206. 1784, 85. Works, vol. 21, p. 108. Let. No 1801, 5, 

13. Seckend. lib. III. p. 200. Let. No. 1816, 73, 1983, 2146, 62, 
2206. Treatise : Shorter confession concerning the Lord's Sapper. 
Works, vol. 21, p. 438. Let. No. 2242, 52, 66, 77, 2310. Mathes. 

14. Pred. Treatise: Against the papacy at Rome, &c. Works, vol. 

21, p. 467, seq. Let. No 2266. Seckend. lib. III. p. 556. Let. No. 

22, 75, ell. 79. Treatise against the 32 articles of the theologians of 
Louvaine, German Works, vol. 21, p. 523, seq. Let. Opp. Jen. IV. p. 
577, seq. 

Notes. — 1.) Luther, in his letters and writings, repeatedly, in the 
most vehement manner, declares himself against this most ferocious 
enemy of the Evangelical Party, who was at the head of all inimical 
and violent enterprises against them, and was strongly suspected of 
having been concerned in incendiary movements. As to his intrigues, 
however, we must, as in other cases, refer the reader to the History of 
the Reformation. — It is remarkable that Luther, after subsequently again 
reading this, beyond measure, vehement writing, could say, that he did 
not see how he had been able to be so moderate, and that he was 
constrained to ascribe it to the giddiness in his head — for he was sickly 
at that time. Let. No. 1977. 



628 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



2. ) The ancient Passion-hymn, the last verse of which reads : O 
thou wretched Judas, &c. Comp. Wackernagel, das deutsche Kir- 
chenlied, p. 107. 

3. ) Bucer and Lykosthenes had at that time, on account of this busi- 
ness, followed the invalid Luther from Schmalkalden to Gotha. See 
above, p. 524, seq. 

4. ) What is related here occurred previous to the publication of the 
Shorter Confession concerning the Lord's Supper, and Melanchthon is 
of opinion that this writing was occasioned by it. He felt himself so 
aggrieved by the instance and other (perhaps only reported) declarations 
of Luther, whom Amsdorf was said to have incited, that he had resolv- 
ed to leave Wittenberg, if Luther should write against him. So like- 
wise Cruciger, who, like Melanchthon, disapproved of the renewal of the 
sacramental dispute and of Luther's vehemence. (Seckend. lib. 111. p. 
448. Corp. Ref. T. V. p. 459, 74, 77, 84.) Their apprehensions, how- 
ever, were not verified, (ib. p. 497, seq.) yea, Melanchthon subsequently, 
when Briick, at the instance of the landgrave, questioned him with 
regard to the. difference existing between him and Luther, declared, thai 
it had not been anything particular. (Ib. p. 522.) In the following year, 
(1545,) nevertheless, the apprehension was again entertained that Lu- 
ther would give public utterance to his suspicions against Melanchthon. 
(Lb. p. 743, 46.) In Luther's letters no traces of his displeasure at 
Melanchthon, or suspicions against him, are to be found, (Comp., on the 
contrary, the declaration cited above in ihe letter to Alterius, No. 2242 
and 2208.) they certainly were not any more than formerly, (see the 
close of chapter I. of this part, vol. 2, page 544.) of long duration, and the 
relation between the two continued the same to Luther's death. Fur- 
ther details would lead too tar here. 

5. ) This he did in the 16th and 28th theses against Louvaine the- 
ologians. 

6. ) The statement, of late years so often repeated, but also elsewhere 
already shown to be a fiction, that Luther, namely, should towards the 
close of his life have judged more leniently in the matter of the sacra- 
ment, is herewith most effectually refuted. 



CHAPTER VII. 

GRIEF IN HIS OLD AGE. PREPARATION FOR DEATH. 

In the year 1539, on the 12th June, Dr. Martin Luther drove 
from Wittenburg to Lichtenberg, to pay a visit to the aged 
marchioness and electoress. As he now, in the evening, supped 
with her princely grace, and they conversed with one another 
about various things at table, the marchioness said, that she 
wished and hoped he would live long yet, and that he might still 
live forty years, if it was the will of God. But Dr. M. Luther 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 629 

said : " God forbid, and though he should offer me Paradise to 
live forty years longer in it, I would not accept it ; I would 
sooner engage an executioner to decapitate me. So exceed- 
ingly wicked is the world, and men are becoming to be such 
veritable devils, that a person cannot wish himself anything 
better than a speedy and happy death. Nor do I let the physi- 
cians disturb me. I shall not torment my life, the term of which 
they have fixed to be a year ; but I shall in the name of God 
eat and drink what I relish." 

When in the following year he for a long time was subject 
to excessive giddiness and to great humming and buzzing in 
his ears, he began to conceive that he would be struck with 
the palsy. As he was not able for some time to divest himself 
of this thought, he at last said : " Strike, dear Lord Jesus, 
only strike, I am ready, because I have been absolved upon 
the authority of thy Word, and been fed and nourished with 
thy flesh and blood, come in nomine Domini ; did not thy be- 
loved disciple John and our beloved elector also depart thus 
out of this vale of tears ?" Thus his gloomy thoughts forsook 
him. 

In the year 1541, (during the time of the conference at 
Worms,) Luther suffered greatly, and the Elector had dis- 
patched his own private physician and surgeon to attend to 
him. He, accordingly, afterwards most humbly thanked his 
gracious Lord for thus cordially interesting himself in him, 
but added: "I would have rejoiced if my dear Lord Jesus 
had graciously taken me away, for I am no longer of much 
use upon the earth. But Pommer, I conceive, has, with 
his persevering intercession in the Church, prevented it, and I 
have, thanks to God, recovered." 

Of his intimate friends, one and the other also departed. 
John Reinecke,o£ Mansfeld, had died already in the year 1538. 
Because Luther himself was ill at that time, his brother Jacob 
and his Kate were unwilling to tell him anything of it. So 
they also concealed from him the death of Nicholas Hausmann, 
who had been called as pastor and superintendent to Freiberg, 
^ and of whom Luther was accustomed to say: " What we preach, 
Hausmann lives." Letters having, namely, on the 6th Novem- 
ber, 1538, been received from Freiberg, stating, that Haus- 
mann had in his first sermon been struck with the palsy, and 
also instantly remained dead, they concealed it from Luther, 
and said at first that he was ill, then that he lav confined, and 



630 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



at last that he had fallen gently asleep in Christ. Then he 
began to weep exceedingly, and said : " Thus God takes away 
the pious, afterwards he will consume the chaff, as the Scrip- 
ture saith : The righteous is taken away, and no man consid- 
ered. The times are very perilous, God will purge and purify 
his floor. I pray God not to permit my wife and children to 
live long after my death. There will be very perilous and 
fearful times. I did not conceive the world to be so wicked — 
God help us, that we may abide in his Word and reform. 
Truly, this was a dear friend of mine." Thus he sat the whole 
day, weeping and sorrowing, being with Dr. Jonas, M. Philip, 
M. Joachim Camerarius and Caspar Kockeritz, among whom 
he sat bitterly weeping and grieving. He said, however, that 
he did not know why they concealed such a thing from him. 
That he knew that Hausmann was justified in Christ, and 
that the words of the 115th Psalm were fulfilled in him : The 
death of his saints is precious in the sight of the Lord. 

But when his friend, Frederick Myconius, of Gotha, informed 
him, that he lay sick unto death, or, as he expressed it in faith, 
unto life ; Luther was indeed rejoiced that his friend was so 
confident in view of death, but, nevertheless, (on the 9th 
January, 1541,) wrote to him: "I pray the Lord Jesus, our 
life, salvation and health, that he would not also permit me to 
witness this evil, that I should be constrained to remain behind, 
and see how you, and others among us, rend the veil, and 
pass through to rest, and leave me without among the devils 
alone, further to be plagued, since I have now for so many 
years been plagued enough, and am well worthy and deserve 
to precede you. Therefore, I pray the Lord to make me ill in 
your stead, and to suffer this useless, worn-out, decrepit frame 
to find its rest in the tomb. For, I well perceive that I am no 
longer of any use to any one." And, in conclusion, he added : 
" Farewell, my Frederick, and may God not permit me to hear, 
that you have departed and left me alive, but grant that you 
may survive me. This I pray, this I desire, and my will be 
done, Amen ; for this my will seeks the honour of the divine 
name, verily not my pleasure or advantage." Luther, accord- 
ingly, hearing that Myconius was recovering, greatly rejoiced. 
Here was tangible evidence, he said, that God heard the 
prayers of his Church. Afterwards he wrote to his friend, that 
he was indeed grieved at his not being stronger, but prayed 
him to spare himself. That he could, even half-dead, still 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHER* S LIFE. 



631 



serve the Church with his counsels and influence. The aged 
combatants of Christ were needed, he said, that the growing 
and yet tender, youthful band, who were to take their places, 
might gain strength. 1 

In the year 1542, Luther's daughter, Magdalene, departed 
this life. As she lay there very sick, he said : " I love her ex- 
ceedingly ; but, O merciful God, as it is thy will to take her 
hence, I willingly resign her to thee f" And whilst she yet lay 
in the bed he said to her : ** Dear Magdalene, my daughter, 
you would like to remain here with your father, but you also 
willingly go to yonder Father !" She said : " Yes, dearest 
father, as God wills it." Then the father said: " Thou dear 
child, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak ;" and turning 
himself away, he said : "I do love her very much. If the 
flesh is so strong, what will not the spirit be ?" As Magdalene 
was now near breathing her last, the father fell down upon his 
knees before the bed, bathed in tears, and praying that God 
would deliver her. Thus she expired, and fell asleep in the 
arms of her father. The mother, indeed, was also in the same 
chamber, but farther from the bed, being greatly grieved. 
This occurred after 9 o'clock, on the Wednesday of the 17th 
week after Trinity, (the 20th September,) 1542. She having 
now been placed in the coffin, he said : " Thou dear Magda- 
lene, how happy art thou !" and beholding her thus lying there, 
he said : " O thou dear Magdalene, thou wilt rise again, and 
wilt shine like a star, yea, like the sun." But the coffin hav- 
ing been made too short and too narrow for her, he said : 
" This bed is too small for her, now that she is dead. I am 
indeed joyful in the spirit, but after the flesh I am very sad ; the 
flesh is slow to come up ; this separating vexes one exceed- 
ingly. It is a marvellous thing to know that she is certainly 
in peace and happy, and yet to be so sad." And when the peo- 
ple came to attend the funeral, and according to custom, 
addressed the Doctor, and said, that they greatly condoled with 
him in this affliction, he said : " You should rejoice ; I have sent 
a saint to heaven, yea, a living saint. O, if only such a death 
were ours ! such a death I would accept this moment." Then 
one said: "That is indeed true, yet we all wish to retain our 
relatives." Dr. Martin replied : " Flesh is flesh, and blood is 
blood. I rejoice that she has passed over ; I experience no 
sadness but that of the flesh." Again he said to others that 
were present : " Be not grieved, I have sent a saint to heaven, 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER* S LIFE. 



yea. I have sent two." Two others, that came to the funeral, 
when the words. Lord remember not our former sins, were 
sung, he said : " I say. not only the former, but also the present, 
for we are flayers, usurers, misers, <fcc, and there also still 
exi.-:s the abomination of the ma^s in the world." When they 
now buried her, he said : ? It is the resurrection of the flesh/' 
And when they again returned from the funeral he said : 
"Now my daughter is provided for, both as to body and soul, 
&c. We Christians have no cause to complain, we know that 
it must be thus. We are perfectly assured of eternal life ; for 
God. who through his Son. and for the sake of his Son, has 
promised it unto us, cannot lie. Our Lor*d God has two saints 
from my flesh, though not of the lineage.'" — Among other 
things he further said : " It is. after all. necessary to provide 
for children, especially for the poor girls. We dare not say 
that some one else will provide for them. 1 have no mercy 
on the boys. A boy can provide for himself, let him come into 
what country he may, if he only chooses to labour ; but if he 
is indolent, he is a knave. But the poor girls must have a 
staff in their hand. A boy can run to school after pandects, 
so that he may afterwards become an able man if he chooses 
to exert himself. Girls cannot do that. They can easily come 
to shame." His wife being greatly grieved, weeping and 
lamenting, Luther said to her : " Dear Kate, only consider 
whither she has gone, and that she is happy. But flesh and 
blood grieve and mourn after their manner : the Spirit lives 
and is willing. Children do not dispute ; as you tell them, 
they believe you. With children it is all simple, dying with- 
out pain and anguish, without the terrors of death, without 
pain in the body, just as they go to sleep." This, his daugh- 
ter, he loved greatly, not merely because she was his child, 
but also because she was of so gentle and amiable a disposi- 
tion, and perfectly obedient to him. Still he said : " I would 
not have my daughter Magdalene restored to life again, even 
if I should have the Turkish empire in addition. For she is 
happy : blessed are the dead that die in the Lord : whoever 
dies thus, surely has eternal life. I wish that I and my children 
and you all would die thus, for there will be evil times after 
this. I perceive that no help or counsel will avail on the earth 
except the last day ; I also trust to God, that it will not delay 
long, for avarice and usury are most fearfully prevalent, and 
sins are no longer vices." 



f 




Published by H. Liidwv 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER* S LIFE. 



633 



The death of the wife of Jonas,(in the same year) also great- 
ly grieved him : she had been dear and valued to him ; not 
only in the truth, but the very sight of her had always been 
cheering and consoling to him, for he knew that she regarded 
and bore everything which concerned him and his family, 
whether it was prosperity or adversity, as happening to her- 
self, and he had hoped that she, of all women, would first, and 
particularly after his death, be a source of comfort to his 
family. 

From this time forth he repeatedly prayed his friends to 
pray for him, that God would speedily grant him a happy 
death, saying that he was quite weary of this world, and of 
no further use. In this year (on the 6th January, 1542) he 
made his will, in which he assigned to his " dear and faithful 
wife, Catharine," the small estate of Zulsdorf, as he had pur- 
chased and improved it, the house Bruno, which he had pur- 
chased in his Wolf's name, the cups and jewels, as, rings, 
chains, and coins, both gold and silver, amounting to about 
1000 florins. This he did, he said, firstly, because she had, as 
a pious, faithful, honourable wife, always loved and esteemed 
him, and, through the rich blessing of God, borne and brought 
up for him five living children. In the second place, because 
she was to take upon herself, and discharge the debt which 
he yet owed, and which amounted to some 450 florins, if not 
more, if he did not discharge it during his life. In the third 
place, and chiefly because he wished that she should not be 
dependent upon the children, but the children upon her, with 
esteem for, and subjection' to her, as God had commanded. — 
If, after his death, she should be necessitated, or otherwise in- 
duced to change her condition, (for he would not limit God in 
his works or will ;) he had confidence in her, that she w r ould 
act as a mother towards the children, and divide with them as 
would be right. The elector he prayed to protect such assign- 
ment and legacy, and his friends to bear his dear Kate wit- 
ness, that there was no ready money. He was constrained to 
consider it as an especial, marvellous blessing, he said, that 
there was not more debt. 2 

The electress Sybilla having, in the absence of her hus- 
band, (who was at the diet at Spires,) caused diligent inquiry 
to be made after his health, and how he fared with wife and 
children, he, in the year 1544, replied to her : " We, thanks to 
God, fare well, and better than we deserve it of God. But 



634 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHEr's LIFE. 



that I am sometimes rendered unfit for labour, in consequence 
of giddiness in the head, is not matter of surprise. Old age is 
here, which of itself is old, and cold, and uncouth, sickly and 
weak. The pitcher goes to the well till it breaks. I have 
lived long enough : God grant me a happy death, that this 
filthy, useless mass of corruption, may return to the earth, to 
its people, and the worms receive their portion. I conceive, 
too, that I have seen the best 1 am to see upon the earth. 
For the signs of the times are indicative of approaching evil. 
God help his people. Amen." 

Also, in his letters to his friends, Luther complained more 
and more about the wickedness of the world, and wished his 
departure nigh. " I am dull, weary, dissatisfied," he wrote, on 
the 5th December, 1544, to Jacob Probst; "that is to say, I 
am an old man, and no longer of any use. I have finished my 
course ; all that is wanting is, that God assemble me to my 
fathers, and give corruption and the worms their portion. I 
have lived to satiety, if it can be called a life. Do thou pray 
for me, that the hour of my departure may be acceptable to 
God, and tend to my salvation. About the emperor and the 
whole realm I concern myself no more, than that I in prayer 
commit them to God. The world also seems to have come to 
its last hour, so that it has grown old, and will soon be 
changed like a garment," &e. . 

In the year 1545, the landgrave transmitted to the elector and 
Luther an account which was drawn up in the Italian lan- 
guage, and had been printed at Naples, and many other 
places. It stated that Luther had," shortly before his death, 
received the holy sacrament, and caused himself to be placed 
upon an altar, and to be worshipped. But that, when his 
body had been laid in the grave, a frightful, rumbling noise 
had been heard in the latter ; the most holy wafer, which so 
unworthy a man had been permitted to receive, had been 
seen suspended in the air ; and, when his grave had been 
opened, it had been found empty, but such a sulphurous stench 
had proceeded from it, as to cause all near to become sick. 
This " Copy of a letter of the most christian king's ambassa- 
dor, concerning a fearful and wonderful occurrence, which 
happened at the disgraceful death of Martin Luther," Luther 
caused to be published in Italian and German, with the addi- 
tion : " And I, Martin Luther, herewith acknowledge and tes- 
tify, that I, on the 21st March, 1545, received such wrathful 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



635 



fiction with regard to my death, and read it with no little joy 
and pleasure, excepting the blasphemy against God, which as- 
cribes such falsehoods to the exalted Divine Majesty. Other- 
wise, it tickles me on the right knee-pan, and on the left heel, 
that the devil and his imps, the pope and the papists, hate me 
so heartily. May God convert them from the devil ! But if it 
is decreed, that my prayer for the sinners unto death shall be 
in vain, then may God grant that they may fill up the measure 
of their iniquity, and do nothing else but write such books for 
their consolation and joy." 

In this year, it happened that Luther, in his weak old age, 
became altogether weary of, and disgusted with some irregu 
lar conduct, and greatly objectionable proceedings, at Witten- 
berg, which, notwithstanding his faithful and solemn warn- 
ings, admonitions and rebukes, were engaged in by some, and 
more and more promoted, so that he desired to be wholly 
away from Wittenberg. 3 "My heart has grown cold, so that 
I no longer delight in being there," he wrote to his wife, from 
Leipzig : " I wish, too, that you would sell the garden and the 
hide, house and all. I would also again present the large 
house to my gracious lord ; and it would be best for you to 
settle yourself at Zulsdorf whilst I live, and I could assist you 
with the salary to improve the property, for I trust that my 
gracious lord would allow me the salary, for one year of my 
life at least. After my death, the four elements at Witten- 
berg will, at any rate, not endure you ; therefore, it would be 
better to do during my life what it is necessary to do." — " The 
day after the morrow I shall drive to Merseburg, for prince 
George has urgently requested me to come. Thus I will rove 
about, and sooner beg my bread, than torment and vex my 
poor, last old days, in consequence of the irregular conduct at 
Wittenberg, with the loss of my arduous and great labours. 
If you see proper, you may inform Dr. Pommer and M. Philip 
of this, if Dr. Pommer would, perhaps, on my account, rebuke 
Wittenberg ; for I can no longer endure this wrath and dis- 
gust." Upon this * information, the university immediately 
wrote to the elector, and informed him of this matter, as well 
as of their intention to send the pastor and several other per- 
sons to Luther, with the prayer that he would not suffer him- 
self to become estranged from this church, university, and 
town, by which he would occasion the enemies of the Gospel 
great rejoicing, and prepare invincible grief for the elector, 



026 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



and many true members of Christ in this town, and in the 
who!- German nation : they, at the same time, offering, that if 
he objected to any one's doctrines or life in this university or 
town, they would assist in removing all ground for such ob- 
jection The elector, they represented, might, perhaps, gra- 
ciously have Luther come to some suitable place and converse 
with him. This was done, and. because the university also, 
in audition, despatched an embassy to Luther, he suffered him- 
self to be entreated and persuaded.'" 

Having again returned home, he finished his lectures on the 
book of Genesis. 4 upon which he had. with the greatest dili- 
gence. Laboured for ten years, and on the 1 7th November con- 
cluded the lecture with these words: •'■ This now is the dear 
Genesis, our Lord God grant that others after me may afford 
more. I can do no more; I am weak: pray God for me, that 
he may grant me a happy and blessed death," as he also, on 
taking up this book, had said : ■ This will be my last labour ; 
with this I shall, if God permit, conclude my life." 

Authorities. — Tischr. ed. of Stangw., p. 506. Mathes. 12. Pr. 
Let. No. 1952. Let. No. 1618. Tischr.. p. 503. Let. No 1966. 72, 
2197. Tischr., p. 504. seq. Let. No. 2096-2107-2064, 2136. 48, 
2035, 2201. 47. Seckend. lib. Ill,, p. 550. Works, vol. 21. p. 454. 
Ibid. p. 529. Let. No. 2256. .Mathes. 14, Pr. 

Notes. — 1.) In the year 1545, on the 16th January, Spalatin also, 
probably in consequence of great mental distress, in which Luther also 
had comforted him, departed this life. Let. No. 2239. Schlegel vita 
Spalatifri, p 165. seq. In Luther's letters there is no reference to his 
death. 

2. ) The entire last will deserves to be read. It is likewise, in con- 
nection with the electoral confirmation issued in the year 1546, found in 
the Works, vol. 21, p. 692, seq. Melanchthon. Cruciger, and Bugenha- 
gen. also signed it. In reference to Luther's property, see above, p. 
552, note 4. The estate of Zeiisdorf, near Borna, he probably pur- 
chased in the year 1540. 

3. ) The first occasion of his dissatisfaction were the secret betroth- 
ments. (Let. No. 2157.) defended by the jurists : to these was added 
the immorality more and more exhibiting itself among the students, and 
elsewhere, &c. 

4. ) They were prepared for the press by Veit Dietrich, Cruciger, 
and Rorarius. Let. No. 2175. 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



637 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE LAST DAYS OF LUTHEr's LIFE, HIS DEATH AND BURIAL. 

For a number of years past, Luther had, to his exceeding 
sorrow, heard great complaints of his fellow-countrymen, con- 
cerning Count Albrecht, of Mansfeld. They accused him of 
exacting too much from them all, and of designing to deprive 
them of their hereditary furnaces and possessions, and of al- 
most, enslaving them. On this account Luther had also re- 
peatedly written to him, as well as to the Counts Philip and 
John George, of Mansfeld, and warned them, saying that God 
would not endure such proceedings, and would perhaps cause 
the earldom to become wholly impoverished, as he could easi- 
ly again take away his gifts. But among the counts them- 
selves, also, various and vehement disputes arose concerning 
the mines and other matters ; and the lawyers, as was said, 
and Luther repeatedly complained, fostered and cherished 
these contentions, so that the discord between the brothers 
and relatives daily increased, and assumed a menacing as- 
pect. Upon this, count Albrecht declared that he would ac- 
cept of worthy men, especially of Luther, as arbitrators and 
umpires in this matter, and he succeeded with the elector, that 
the latter allowed Luther to proceed to Mansfeld in October, 
1545, for the purpose of endeavouring to bring about an agree- 
ment ; but on that occasion they were compelled to return, 
without accomplishing anything. When count Albrecht, 
soon after, however, very graciously replied to a communica- 
tion of Luther's, and offered to negotiate, the latter again was 
willing to come. " Although I have much to do," he wrote, 
" I will devote a week to the matter, that I may with joy en- 
ter the tomb, having previously reconciled my dear sovereigns, 
and perceived them to be of a friendly, harmonizing heart." 
On the 23d December, it being fearfully cold at the time, Lu- 
ther set out. 1 Melancthon, who accompanied him, was ex- 
ceedingly unwell, and this constrained them to return as soon 
as possible, and Luther was rejoiced when he had again 
brought him home, wherefore he was also unwilling that he 
should be sent to the " wretched and useless Ratisbonne col- 
loquium." But neither did Luther accomplish anything this 
time. On his return he preached at Halle, on the Gospel con- 
cerning the baptism of Christ, Matt. iii. 13-17, very briefly, 



638 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



however, because it was cold, and because, as he said, they 
had good and faithful preachers enough there, of whom they 
could daily hear the truth, They should only see to it, he 
said, that they retained, loved, and esteemed them. 

Soon after this, the counts of Mansfeld again thought of the 
negotiations, and despatched their chancellor, George Lauter- 
bach, to Luther, in order, by kindly and plausible representa- 
tions, to inspire the latter with the hope, that if he should 
once more submit to the trouble of coming, the peace would be 
established. Luther also suffered himself to be persuaded, 
although he at that time wrote to his friend, Jacob Probst, at 
Bremen : 4< I write to you, my Jacob, as an old, decrepit, dull, 
weary, cold, and now also one-eyed man, who might have 
hoped that, being now exhausted, I would have been permitted 
to enjoy the rest which, it seems to me, I have well deserved ; 
but notwithstanding this, I am so engaged with writing, speak- 
ing, labours, and business, that it would seem as if I had never 
performed, written, spoken, or done any thing. Christ, how- 
ever, is all and in all ; he gives strength to perform. His 
name be praised forever. Amen." 

In the last sermon delivered by him, at Wittenberg, the oc- 
casion being the second Sunday after Epiphany, and the text, 
Rom. iii. 3, &c, he, among other things, said : " Therefore, 
(says Paul,) 1 exhort you, through the grace given me of God, 
as if he would say : there still is self-conceit among you, as 
well as other gross sin ; therefore beware of yourselves. 
Hitherto you have heard the true undoubted Word; now be- 
ware of your own thoughts and conceits. The devil will light 
the torch of reason, and draw you away from faith, as he has 
done with the Anabaptists and Sacramentarian fanatics, hav- 
ing made heretics of them. I have had more than thirty fa- 
natical leaders before me, who attempted to teach me, but I 
refuted all of them with this passage : This is my beloved Son, 
in whom I am well pleased ; him hear. And with this passage 
I have thus far, through the grace of God, sustained myself, 
otherwise I would have had to adopt some thirty different 
kinds of faith. The heretics are always planning and schem- 
ing to cause us to yield and make concessions to them ; but by 
the grace of God we shall not do it. Then they say, you are 
haughty spirits. I shall willingly endure all manner of re- 
proach, but not depart, in the least, from the words of Him 
who says, him Hear I I perceive plainly, that if God does not 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHEr's LIFE. 



639 



give us faithful preachers and ministers, Satan will rend our 
Church asunder, and will not rest or pause till he has accomplished 
it; this is his fixed determination. If he cannot accomplish it 
through the pope and the emperor, he will do so through those that 
yet agree with us in doctrine. Therefore it is highly necessary 
that we earnestly pray God to give us pure teachers. Now 
we are secure, and do not perceive how shockingly the prince 
of this world strives against us through his agents, the pope, 
the emperor, and our learned men here, who say, What harm 
is it to yield ? No, not the breadth of a hair shall we yield. 
If they choose to side with us, well ; if not, let them go. I 
did not receive my doctrine from them, but, through divine 
grace, from God. I have well learned to know these charac- 
ters. Therefore earnestly pray God that he may continue 
unto you the Word, for there will be shocking times. But 
here come our - lawyers and the wise men at court, and say, 
You are haughty, you will cause an insurrection, &c. May 
our Lord God enable us boldly to resist this dangerous tempta- 
tion." In the conclusion of this sermon 2 he prayed his hearers, 
that if the report should come to them that he lay ill, they 
should not pray God to prolong his life, but to grant him a 
happy death. " The world" he said, " is weary of me, and I am 
weary of it ; we shall separate without difficulty, just as a trav- 
eller is not loath to leave the inn" 

On the 23d January Luther set out, being accompanied by 
his three sons, (and his servant, Ambrosius Rudtfeld,) and on 
the 25th, at 8 o'clock in the morning, arrived at Halle, where 
he took up his lodging with Dr. Jonas. At table he toasted 
his host, composing the following lines on the occasion : 

* Dat vitrum vitres Jonae vitrum ipse Lutherus, 
Ut vitro fragili similem se noscat uterque. 

(Luther himself being glass, the vitreous Jonas a glass gives, 
That they both may remember themselves to be fragile like glass.) 

During the 25th, 26th and 27th January, he remained at 
Halle, being prevented by high water from proceeding further, 
as he also wrote to his wife : " Grace and peace in Christ. 
Dear Kate ! to-day at eight o'clock we arrived at Halle, but 
did not proceed to Eisleben ; for we were met by a great Ana- 
baptist, with waves of water and masses of ice, who deluged 
the land, and threatened us with re-baptism. Nor would the 
Mulda, on the other hand, permit us to return, so that we were 



610 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER ? S LIFE.' 



constrained to keep quiet at Halle between the waters. Not 
that we longed greatly to drink of them, for we took good 
Torgau beer and approved Rhine wine instead ; with these we 
refreshed and comforted ourselves the while, waiting till the 
Saala would abate its rage. For, as the people, and the boat- 
men, and ourselves also, were fearful, we did not venture to 
cross the water and to tempt God ; for the devil hates us, and 
dwells in the water, and it is better to be safe than to be be- 
wailed ; nor is it necessary that we should prepare a fool's joy 
for the pope and his imps. I would not have supposed that 
the Saala could rage so ; dashing away at this rate over rocks 
and everything. Xothing further now : only pray for us, and 
be pious. I conceive, that, if you had been here, you would 
also have advised us to do as we have done, and thus we 
would also once have followed your advice. Herewith adieu. 
Amen." On the Tuesday after Paul's conversion, (the 26th 
January). Luther preached at Halle, in the church of the Vir- 
gin, concerning Acts ix. 1 — 19. In this sermon he says, by 
way of introduction, that they boasted greatly at Rome of 
having the bodies of the two apostles, Peter and Paul, ex- 
hibiting their heads, and deeming them to be precious relics, 
whilst after all they were not their heads, and even if they 
were, would benefit them no more than they did the altar 
upon which they stood, which was not holier on that account 
than any other altar. "But we." continued he, "who have the 
true bod}- of Paul, yea, not only of Paul, but also of Peter and 
of the Lord Christ himself, do not trouble ourselves about the 
dead bodies at Rome. That is the true relic, that we not only 
have Paul and his Epistles, but also the prophets and the 
apostles, yea, the Lord Christ himself, in the Scriptures : in 
them we read and study ; we hear them speak with us : the} r , 
of a truth, had body and soul ; and we also have their spirit, 
so that we understand the Scriptures. For, when I hear 
preaching in the church, I hear Peter and Paul ; yea, when in 
my closet or chamber, I read what they wrote and taught, I 
still hear them preach and speak to me everyday, for they did 
not teach and preach anything different from what they wrote. 
This we still hear with our ears at the present da)', and with 
our hearts we perceive what wisdom and spirit were theirs 
and from this we derive advantage and profit. It would bene- 
fit us nothing if we had, and could behold their bodies and 
heads." He then calls upon the Christians of Halle to purge 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHEr's LIFE. 



641 



out the leaven of the monks, who attempted again to establish 
the mummery of the cardinal of Mayence, whereupon he 
took up a part of the noble and lovely account which states 
how St. Paul was called to be an apostle, and ordained to be 
a preacher by Christ himself. 

On Thursday, the 28th January, he left Halle, accompanied 
by his three sons and Justus Jonas, crossing the water in a 
boat, though not without danger, so that he himself said to Dr. 
Jonas : " Dear Dr. Jonas, would it not afford the devil great 
joy, if I, Dr. Martin, with three sons and yourself, should be 
drowned in the water ?" On the borders of the territory of 
Mansfeld he was received by an escort of one hundred and 
thirteen horsemen. On the road, quite near to Eisleben, he be- 
came so weak, that his life was considered in danger. He 
had, namely, gone on foot, beyond his strength, and having 
perspired, had then become chilled in the carriage. Having, 
however, at the lodging, been rubbed with warm cloths, he ate 
and drank in the evening, was contented, and did not com- 
plain any more ; but previously in the carriage, when he was 
taken sick, he said : " This the devil always does ; when I un- 
dertake, or am to accomplish any thing great, he previously 
vexes me thus, and assails me by such a temptation." 

Concerning his being burthened with this vexatious dispute, 
which was altogether foreign to his pursuits and genius, and 
unsuited to his age, he complained greatly, in his first letter to 
Melanchthon, (on the 1st February,) and wished that he might 
at least have the latter with him ; he however added, that he 
nevertheless perceived it to have been well on account of 
Melanchthon's health, that he had been suffered to remain at 
home. Five days later he wrote to him : " Here we sit, and 
lie idle, and bustle ; idle, because we accomplish nothing ; 
busy, because we suffer unspeakably ; thus does the malice of 
Satan torment us. Among so many ways we Ijave at last dis- 
covered one, which inspires us with some hope ; but Satan has 
blocked it up again. We then took a different course, by 
which we thought we had already succeeded, when Satan 
again crossed our path. Now we are proceeding in a third 
direction, which holds out every prospect of success; but the 
issue will show what will be the end of it. I pray you, take 
Dr. Briick to aid and prevail upon the elector to send me a 
letter, and to call me home on necessary business ; perhaps I 
can compel them in this way to hasten with the peace, for I 

41 



642 THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHER ? S LIFE 1 . 

perceive that they will not be able to bear my departing with- 
out accomplishing something. I will give them respite this 
week, after that I shall threaten them with the letter from 
the elector." He complains, in particular, that the feelings 
on both sides had become so embittered, that poison was ex- 
tracted from every word that was uttered. This was to be 
ascribed, he said, to the lawyers, who had taught and still 
taught the world so many ambiguous terms, that language 
had become much more confused than it had been at Babel. 
There no one had been able to understand the other ; here no 
one wanted to understand the other. He denounces them as 
sycophants and sophists, and as a pest to the human race, and 
says : " If this is your boasted legal skill, there is no need 
that a lawyer should be so conceited as they all are." 3 So he 
in like manner wrote to his wife : " Here we sit, permitting 
ourselves to be tormented, and wishing ourselves away ; but 
we will not have our wishes, for a week yet, I presume. You 
can tell M. Philip to correct his Postil ; for he did not under- 
stand why the Lord calls riches thorns in the Gospel. Here 
is the school where a person can learn this. But I tremble, 
when I remember that thorns are always in the Scriptures 
menaced with the fire ; wherefore I exercise so much the 
greater patience, if perhaps with the help of God I might ac- 
complish some good." On the following day, nevertheless, he 
was minded in his displeasure to grease his carriage (that is, 
to prepare for departure) ; only grief at the distress of his 
country restrained him. 

On this same day (the 7th February) he wrote to his 
wife : " Grace and peace in the Lord. Do thou, dear Kate, 
read St. John and the smaller catechism, of which you once 
said : Really every thing in this book is applicable to me. 
For you want to care for your God, precisely as if he were 
not almighty, and could create ten Dr. Martins, if this aged 
one should perish in the Saale, or in the oven, or on Wolfs 
bird-decoy. I pray you do not disturb me with your cares, for 
I have one that cares for me better than you or angels can. 
He lies in a manger, and hangs on the breast of a virgin ; but 
is also seated at the right hand of God, the Father almighty. 
Therefore be unconcerned. Amen." So he likewise wrote on 
the 10th February: " To the devout, care-ridden lady, Cathar- 
ine Luther, Zulsdorf, at Wittenberg, my gracious, dear wife. 
Grace and peace in Christ. Most devout lady ! We most 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



643 



sincerely thank you for your great anxiety, which would not 
permit you to sleep ; for since you have been caring for us, the 
fire made attempts to devour us, quite close to the door of my 
room ; and yesterday, no doubt, in virtue of your anxiety, a 
stone came very near falling upon our head, and crushing us 
like in a mouse-trap. For in our secret apartment it for 
several days rattled with lime and mortar over head, till 
we engaged some men to examine into the matter, who 
merely with two fingers touched a stone, when it fell down 
as large as a long pillow, and of the thickness of two good 
sized hands : it had designs of returning thanks for your holy 
care, if the blessed angels had not prevented it. I am ap- 
prehensive that if you do not cease your cares, the earth will 
at last swallow us up, and all the elements will pursue us. 
Do you thus teach the catechism and the creed ? Do you 
pray and suffer God to care, for it is written : Cast your care 
upon the Lord, for he careth for you. Ps. lv., and in many other 
places. We are, thanks to God, in good health ; only the 
affairs disgust us, and Dr. Jonas was determined to have a sore 
thigh, by accidentally injuring himself against a chest; so 
great is the envy of man, that he begrudges me the privilege 
of having a sore thigh alone. Herewith adieu. We would 
gladly be set free here now, and return home, if God would 
permit. Amen. Amen. Amen. On the day of Scholastica, 
1546. Your holiness's willing servant, Martin Luther." 

Luther repeatedly said at Eisleben, that he had left Witten- 
berg for the purpose of gaining a little respite from his daily 
occupations and vexations, having intended only to preach at 
Eisleben, to pray and to exhort his sovereigns to union and 
peace. This he also did by delivering four sermons there. 

In the first sermon, delivered on the 4th Sunday after 
Epiphany, concerning the Gospel, Matthew viii. : 23 — 27, he 
says : That the Evangelist here firstly describes how the Lord 
Christ lay in the ship and slept, naturally, in order to show 
that Christ was a natural, true man, who was possessed of all 
the marks and feelings which characterize a true man by 
nature* That he, however, at the anxious cries and calls of 
his disciples, afterwards arose, commanded the winds, that was 
to say, all devils, who excited such winds and storms, and 
caused them to cease their upheavings, raving and raging. 
That this was not the work of man, but showed, that Christ 
was true God, having divine power and might, and being Lord 



644 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



over all creatures, the winds, the sea, and the devil himself. 
That it was indeed to be learned, not only from this Gospel, 
but from ail other accounts, that Christ was both true man 
and true God ; that it was, nevertheless, necessary, however, 
to repeat this article, and to learn in it, daily, that it might con- 
tinue firmly established in Christendom, and we might begin 
earnestly and firmly to believe, that we have such a Lord in 
this our Saviour Christ, who not only has human nature like 
ourselves, but also is Lord and God, of whom we have both 
this temporal life, and also redemption, help and deliverance 
from all distress, and protection against the assaults of all 
creatures. That by this article the faith of the Christian was 
distinguished from the religion and faith of all other men, 
since God could not be rightly known or worshipped, except 
by those who possessed his Word, by which he had revealed 
himself, as Christ said to the Samaritan woman : "Ye worship 
ye know not what ; we know what we worship" That the Turks, 
Jews,* and all anti-Christians did indeed pretend to great know- 
ledge of God, but that theirs were futile thoughts and decep- 
tions of the devil. That, because they did not receive Christ, 
who was true God and man, the} 7 had no further part in God, 
whom they boasted to be a creator of the heavens and the 
earth, than the mere name and shadow of God. Then he 
further shows, that our faith is not new, but the most ancient 
faith from the beginning of the world ; that the faith, religion 
and worship of all anti-Christians, on the other hand, always 
had been, and still were nothing but a variety of uncertain, 
erroneous, new-invented, futile conceits, without any sure 
foundation ; since they could not say what Goo! was, as re- 
garded his being, much less, how God was disposed towards 
men. That they had, therefore, always passed from one thing 
to the other, or had adopted what they had seen or heard ; 
that this had also been the case in the papacy. But that no 
matter how greatly the sects and idols were at variance 
among themselves, they were, nevertheless, united in this, 
that they all equally persecuted the true pure doctrines of the 
Gospel. That it was accordingly represented here in the 
Gospel, how the little flock, who were with Christ and cleaved 
to him, had to be severely assailed, but also, how our Lord 
Christ was accustomed to rescue and to help; namely, by per- 
mitting the distress to reach its highest point, that he might 
afterwards the more nobly and mightily display his power and 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



645 



aid, and urge us to cry and to call to him, by which faith was 
exercised and strengthened. " And though," says he, in conclu- 
sion, " we, in consequence of the weakness of faith, feel trem- 
ulous and timid, (as we are all by nature disposed to do.) we 
are, nevertheles, to be so wise, as to run to Christ, and by our 
cries and prayers awaken him. For he hereby also gives us 
to understand, that he after all approves of such calling and 
crying of the weak faith, as St. Paul likewise says, Rom. viii. : 
These are the cries and calls of the Spirit, who helpeth our in- 
firmities and maketh intercession for us with groanings which 
cannot be uttered, &c. ; yea, he wishes us, when we feel our- 
selves weak and tremulous, only confidently to cry and to call 
to him, and then he will also at the proper time afford us help 
and deliverance. For he knows that we will at any rate not 
learn to know or to consider his power and help, if he does not 
leave us to ourselves, till we are constrained to cry and to call 
to him. And though he could indeed, without our awakening 
and calling, hear and check the raging and storming of Satan ; 
he nevertheless wishes us to awaken him and to call upon him, 
that we may learn how his power is mighty and invincible in 
our weakness. 

In the second sermon concerning the Gospel on the festival 
of the presentation of Christ in the temple, Luke ii. 22 — 32, 
he describes the law of Moses, of which the text treats, and 
shows how Mary and her Son, although this law did not bind 
them, nevertheless rendered obedience to it; and how a disciple 
of Christ might learn from this, that Christ did more for us than 
he was under obligations to do. That St. Paul also, 1 Corinth, ix., 
said : " For although I were free from all men, and might well 
have remained so ; I nevertheless made myself servant unto all, 
that I might gain the more;'' and thus every pious preacher and 
Christian was also to think, so that the entire life of the 
Christian might be an exhibition of such works of love. That 
we, in the Bible, read, not only of the privileges and honours of 
the first-born sons under the law, but also of their consequent 
pride ; wherefore, all upon whom God had bestowed advan- 
tages or privileges, should beware of imagining that they pos- 
sessed them for the purpose of making a display, being puffed 
up in their own conceits because of them ; but remember, that 
they were to serve others with those gifts, as Christ also had 
given an example. " Therefore," says he, in conclusion, 
" Christians are to learn not to be conceited or to despise 



646 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER's LIFE. 



others, although they may have been honoured and blessed 
with great and exalted gifts ; but are to think thus : Good 
Lord, thou hast bestowed upon me many gifts, I will commu- 
nicate them to others and serve all with them, as my Lord and 
Saviour has served me with his divine gifts. If we acted thus, 
we would have all things in abundance. But instead of this, 
we rake and scrape, and many, by their usury, gain thousands 
of florins, without after all enjoying them ; neither they them- 
selves nor others being benefited^ by such great gain, till it 
finally, through the judgment of God, is scattered and wasted, 
as it was gained. For where it is not used as God has com- 
manded, and for the purpose for which he has given it, every 
thing must in the end fail, both grain, money and wood ; and 
though every thing should flow superabundantly full of grain, 
money and gold, it will still avail for you nothing, if you do 
not cease your avarice, which strives to purchase, tear, rake 
and scrape every thing to itself. Again, if that lust and 
greediness for money (which is called usury) is added, and 
does not cease ; it shall avail you and your children nothing, 
though even all your trees produced gold, and all your fields 
grain, a hundred-fold for you. Let it suffice to have thus 
briefly deduced from the example of Christ, that a Christian is 
to be disposed so to act towards his neighbour, as Christ has 
acted towards us ; otherwise, all your boast of Christ and the 
Gospel is vain and false." 

The third sermon was delivered on the fifth Sunday after 
Epiphany, concerning the Gospel, Matt. xiii. 24-30. From 
this Gospel we learn, said Luther, that the holy Christian 
Church, from the beginning of the world to the end of it, has 
among its members, wicked knaves, and is not delivered from 
them, so that there always will be pious and wicked mingled 
together in this earthly life. To adapt one's self rightly to this 
state of things, he said, required not a little understanding, 
skill and wisdom. That there formerly had been, and still 
were, heretics, who wanted to have a church in which there 
were no wicked, but in which all were wise, pious, holy and 
pure. That the Catharists and Donatists had been such men, 
as were also the Anabaptists, Miinzer and their like, of that 
time, who had wished to kill and to extirpate all that were 
not holy. That such had also been the monks who had for- 
saken their callings and crept into a corner, in order to separate 
themselves from the world and to be holy. And that this error 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHEr's LIFE. 



647 



disturbed even pious men, as was seen in the servants in the 
Gospel, who wished that all should be right, and that nothing 
but pure and good wheat should be permitted to spring up 
and to grow ; that the text, however, inculcated a different 
course. Having then shown, how it had always been in the 
Church from the beginning, that tares had always sprung up, 
he continues : " In short, it will always be so : where God es- 
tablishes a holy and pure Church, there the devil will immedi- 
ately build a chapel alongside. That is, as this Gospel says, 
where the householder has sown the good seed, there the enemy 
comes and also sows his tares among it. So that we are not to 
be terrified ; as I myself, when I began to preach the pure 
Word of God, was terrified at first, seeing that from our uni- 
versities and churches, there afterwards arose Anabaptists, Sa- 
cramentarians, Antinomians, and other sectarian spirits. But 
I could do nothing to prevent this, for I knew that the seed 
was pure and good ; but before I was aware of it, the devil 
had crept in and scattered his evil seed among the good : he 
occasions such various sects and fanaticisms. For he is de- 
termined, whether or no, to meddle in the affairs of the Church, 
as he also immediately, at the beginning, wished to be in par- 
adise with man, and thus always, as Job says, chap. 1, is 
among the children of God* Hereupon he shows how it is to 
be understood, when we are directed to avoid a heretic, as 
Paul inculcates, and yet not to root up the tares, but suffer 
them to grow. He illustrates this by reference to the human 
body, which though full of impurity and defects, we neverthe- 
less dare not reject or hate, but are required to cherish and to 
nourish it, and to endeavour to aid it. That even the most 
healthy body was not pure, but was always necessitated to 
carry its impurity with it, and to purge it out, till the hour 
would at last come, when it would be laid in the earth and 
buried, and the worms would consume the impurity, till, final- 
ly, it would become wholly new and pure. This he applies 
to the life of Christians, and then to the civil, domestic and 
ecclesiastical government, and concludes with the words : 
¥ Thus it is also decreed, that in the Christian Church the beau- 
tiful thistles and tares are to be mixed up among the precious 
wheat ; so, nevertheless, that the preaching and the sacraments 
remain pure, and that each Christian for himself abide in them. 
Just as a prince or lord also endures an unfaithful or wicked 
subject ; only in so far, however, as the latter does not attempt 



648 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER* S LIFE. 



to deprive him of the government, or to become lord in the 
land. For this a pious prince cannot and should not endure. 
Thus a father likewise bears with his disobedient son for a 
time, nevertheless, so, that he does not attempt to become lord 
in the house, or to dispose of the property according to his 
pleasure-, and to banish the father from his possessions; but 
that the father still continues master. Thus in the ecclesias- 
tical government, the wicked also must be endured and tole- 
rated ; only that the doctrine be retained pure. So pure we 
cannot make it, as if the doves had selected it, till the last 
day comes, when it will become pure, and the tares will be 
wholly extirpated, and burnt with everlasting fire. 

In the fourth sermon concerning the Gospel for St. Mat- 
thew's day, 4 Matt. xi. 25, 30, Luther says : " But the world 
takes great offence at such foolish teaching, as it deems it, that 
God, namely, should thus hate the wise and condemn them ; 
whilst we, nevertheless, imagine that God cannot govern with- 
out having prudent and wise men for the government. But the 
sense is this : The wise and the prudent in the world act so, 
that God cannot be favourably disposed towards them ; for 
they are perverse, and do in the Christian Church what seems 
good to them. Everything that God does and institutes, they 
would fain improve : so that there is not a more poor, insignifi- 
cant, despised disciple upon the earth than God ; He must be the 
pupil of everybody, everybody attempts to be his teacher and 
preceptor." That this was the course which heretics had al- 
ways pursued. But that, as in the temporal government, those 
were justly hated who wanted to be wise above what they 
were, so those also were hateful men, whom both God and 
men detested, who in the Christian Church attempted to be 
wise above what they were, since they hindered the preach- 
ing of the Gospel, and prevented men from coming to God. 
That such wisdom and prudence had been practised mostly 
and always by the pope and the cardinals, who had at- 
tempted to be the teachers of God, and to rule in Christendom. 
That God, therefore, also fearfully abased them. Having then 
further shown, how in the Church He alone is to be heard, who 
says : All things are committed to me of my Father, and no one 
knows the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son reveals 
it, and also how Christ makes it easy for his followers to suffer 
all things for the sake of him, through his words : Come hither 
to me, all that are weary; he concludes: "Behold this now is 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHEft's LIFE. 



649 



the rejection of the worldly wise, that we may learn not to 
deem ourselves wise in our own conceits, and not at all to re- 
gard high personages, but unhesitatingly to shut our eyes, and 
at his most gracious invitation to come to him, and to say : 
Thou alone art my dear Lord and Master, I am ,thy pupil. 
This and much more might be said concerning this Gospel ; 
but I am too weak, we will let this suffice. May God, in mer- 
cy, grant us his grace, that we may with gratitude receive his 
precious Word, increase in the knowledge and faith of his Son, 
our Lord Jesus Christ, and firmly abide in the confession of his 
blessed Word to the end. Amen." 

During the time that Luther attended to the negotiation at 
Eisleben, he twice received absolution and communed after it ; 
at the second communion, on Sunday, being St. Valentine's 
day, (14th Feb.,) he ordained two priests, in accordance with 
apostolical usage. He always dined and supped with the rest, 
eating and drinking moderately, also in particular praising 
food and drink, and remarking that he relished them so well in 
his native country. He was also during this time heard to say 
many admirable and consoling things, often referring to his 
old age, and saying, that when he should again return to Wit- 
tenberg, he would lay himself down to rest, besides which he 
also at table, and in the presence of the counts and the rest, 
explained many important and consoling passages of Scrip- 
ture. 

On one occasion he said, that all the wise men of this world 
imagined, that the doctrine of the Gospel, because it had 
arisen so suddenly, would not continue long, but would of its 
own accord decline again. " Therefore the bishop of Magde- 
burg, Hans Albrecht, is accustomed to say : We must leave 
much to time. He hoped that the papacy would again be es- 
tablished in Germany, he has been well instructed at Rome, 
therefore he does not concern himself about our doctrine. The 
children of the world do not say otherwise than : when the 
dark clouds have passed away, the weather will change. Of 
the same bishop he related, that he had once, at the diet of 
Augsburg, in 1530, been reading in the Bible. " As he was 
thus engaged, one of his counsellors accidentally came up, 
and said: What is your electoral grace doing with this book? 
He replied : I do not know what kind of a book it is, for 
everything that is contained in it is against us." 

On another occasion he was asked, how it came to pass, 



650 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHER*S LIFE. 



that men were so covetous and avaricious, all attempting to be- 
come rich, often even to the injury of their souls ? Some one 
also instanced the case of a certain nobleman, who had said : 
Formerly, in my younger years, nothing would prosper for me ; 
when clothing was required for wife and children, I had no 
money, and did not know how it happened. But when I began 
to take my soul on my back, I became rich, acquiring both 
money and property. If I had not done that, I would have 
continued to be poor all my life, and all in consequence of this 
nicety about the soul. Upon this Dr. Martin Luther said to 
Jonas: "Dr. Jonas, do you not remember what Asche von 
Cram, the knight, told me at Wittenberg 1 that a certain per- 
son, namely, once had said to him : My dear sir, if you want 
to become rich, powerful and great, you must bore a hole in a 
tree, put your soul in it, and stop up the aperture by a plug that 
it may remain there. When you have now become rich, then 
go and take your soul out again." Dr. Jonas rejoined: "But 
how, if some one should meanwhile come and take the soul 
out of the tree f Dr. Luther replied : " Verily, I'll let him 
see to that, I would not risk it." Luther further said concern- 
ing usury, that it was customary now in Saxony to say : 

Wer segt, dat Wucher Siinde sy, 
Die hefft kein geld, dat gleube fry ; 

(Whoever says that usury is a sin, has no money, be assured 
of that.) But I, Dr. Martin Luther, say in opposition : 

Wer segt, dat Wucher kein Siinde sy, 
Die hefft kein Gott, dat gleub nur fry. 

(Whoever says that usury is not a sin, has no God, be assured 
of that.) And further Dr. Luther said, " I would gladly check 
avarice and usury, and wholly extirpate them, but I cannot 
do so. But this I would wish to prevent, that avarice and 
usury might not become predominant. So I would also wish 
to check stealing, adultery, and fornication, that they might 
not become customs, and that such sins and vices might not 
become predominant and rule. For we preachers must oppose 
sin, and earnestly rebuke it, otherwise we shall hear the curse 
which is recorded in Isaiah : Wo unto you, who call evil good. 
I must do like my cousin, Fabian Kaufmann, did, who, as he 
was taking a walk in the Speck, and wanted to lay himself 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. (>5l 

dawn and take a sleep in it, chanced to come to a place where 
there was a whole nest full of snakes, lying one upon the 
other. The snakes all beginning to hiss at him, he drew his 
sword, and striking in among them, cut off the head of one 
and the tail of another, and so destroyed the whole nest. Thus 
I cannot prevent a snake from creeping into my garden, but 
if I come upon it I'll kill it and hang it on a hedge ; in this 
way I can well prevent its making a nest there. Thus I can- 
not either prevent vices from existing, but I can prevent them 
from ruling in me, and from being converted into habits -and 
becoming wholly predominant. For the heathen Seneca says : 
Where vice once becomes a habit, there is no help." 

On another occasion he said ;* " Men at the present time di- 
vide most strangely with the poor preachers. If these now 
chance, in connection with their parishes, to have a spot of 
woodland, a beautiful meadow, a farm, or a vineyard, means 
are devised to deprive them of it. Men divide with them like 
the man in the fables of iEsop, who had made an agreement 
with Mercury that he would give the latter the half of all he 
should find. Having now found a bag with dates and al- 
monds, he proceeded and shelled the almonds, and placed the 
shells of the almonds and the seeds of the dates on one side, 
and the kernel of the almonds and the pulp of the dates on the 
other. Then he gave the half consisting in shells and date 
seeds to Mercury ; but the kernels of the almonds and the 
pulp of the dates he kept for himself. So also is the part 
which the farmers give to the poor preachers, nothing more 
than empty shells, chaff, cockles, and such like things." 

When George Lauterbach, the chanceller of count Albrecht, 
of Mansfeld, had returned from the Frankfort convention, and 
related at table how the emperor Charles and the pope were 
instituting hasty proceedings against bishop Hermann, of Co- 
logne, intending to drive him from his country and people, 
Luther said : " They have lost their cause ; with God's Word 
and the Holy Scriptures, they cannot prevail upon us, there- 
fore they attempt to wage the war with wisdom, power, in- 
trigue, cunning, might, and arms. They themselves bear us 
witness, that the wisdom of God, the truth of God, and the 
Word of God, are with us. But here the papists say : What 
shall we do that we may crush Christ and his Gospel, and de- 
stroy this cause by a resort to fraud, power, and cunning ? And 
then it comes to pass, as the second Psalm says, The kings of 



852 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



the earth set themselves up, and the rulers take counsel together 
What will they accomplish against God and his Spirit ? The 
second Psalm we will make true, but it is immediately added : 
He that sitteth in the heavens has them in derision. God still 
thinks, I will yet maintain myself against those wrathful 
squires, and Satan shall return them thanks for their attempts 
to subject me, poor man, to their control. I have now for al- 
most six thousand years been in the council, have ruled, and 
made all the laws. Dear squires, do not be so wrathful ; run 
away from the wall, and you will not injure your heads. Re- 
ceive instruction, O you kings who judge upon the earth. Re- 
ceive the Lord Christ, or Satan shall reward you. That you 
do not depart from the right way. J believe that God designs 
to crush the pope, that the last day may come. Truly, this is 
a haughty psalm against those same spirits. It begins hum- 
bly, but becomes proud as it proceeds : That you may not depart 
from the right way. A fire will be kindled ; therefore happy 
are all who trust in him. It is a proud psalm ; it says : Verily, 
you lords, behold what you are doing ; He that sitteth in the 
heavens receives our cause into his protection, and admirably 
takes the great lords between the spurs, and rides them to 
water, but nothing will avail. We have no other consolation 
against the well-planned treacherous intrigues of the world, 
but that our God is a Sod who is not far off, but near by. And 
then he is a God of mercy, He beholds all these intrigues, 
and does not forget them, for he has a great memory. But 
what does our Lord God say to it ? He thinks that he is a poor 
pupil, and wonders how He and his Son will fare. All the 
angels are terrified, thinking, What now ? where shall we 
abide ? But when God says : This counsel or intrigue does not 
please me, it must come to nought. For though they begin this 
and that, and though alt the four^valls and all the elements 
should oppose us, we must nevertheless cleave firmly to God. 
If he then will not have us alive, he may have us dead ; but 
we are taught differently, for the dead will not praise thee, O 
Lord. I have greatly exasperated the pope with those wicked 
pictures. 5 O how the hog will raise its tail ; but though it 
kill me, it shall first devour of the filth which the pope, who 
rides upon the hog, bears in his hand. I have placed a golden 
cup in the hands of the pope, and he shall himself first drink 
out of it. I have a great advantage ; my Lord is called She- 
flimmi, (i. e., sit thou on my right hand,) and he says : / will 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



653 



raise them up at the last day. And he will then speak thus : 
Dr. Martin, Dr. Jonas, Magister Michael Coelius, come forth, 
and will call us all by our names ; as the Lord Christ says in 
John: And he calls them by name. Therefore, be undismayed." 

At another time he related, how that wise, prudent and 
sensible man, Frederick von Thuna, the knight, had once re- 
quested his dismission from the elector, Frederick of Saxony, 
and that the elector had said to him : " Dear Thun, you see 
that it is a burthensome business to govern, and I have need 
of able men for it ; I cannot dispense with you. Although age 
will no longer permit you to be at court, you must nevertheless 
have patience, just as I also must have patience. For if I do 
not attend to it, and you neither, who will attend to it ? 
Therefore I cannot suffer you to leave me." 

On the 10th February, count Albrecht, of Mansfeld, and 
count John Henry, of Schwarzburg, were Luther's guests ; on 
this occasion he spoke of union, and said that duke Frederick, 
the elector, was accustomed to say : The affairs can easily be 
arranged, if men only could be made to agree ; in order that the 
persons therefore may also be cordially united, one must often 
yield to the other. Further he said : " We all desire union ; 
but the means to obtain union, which is love to one another, 
no one seeks. We all likewise seek wealth, but the true 
means to become rich, namely, the blessing of God, no one 
seeks. So we wish to be saved ; but the means by which we 
are saved, namely, the Mediator, Jesus Christ, the world will 
not have." And further : "In former times princes and lords 
submitted their entangled affairs and disputes to faithful, 
knightly men, and did not suffer them so readily to pass into 
the hands of the lawyers. When duke Ernest, the aged elector 
of Saxony, and his brother, duke Albrecht, were at variance, 
they submitted the matter to the aged von Einsiedler, the fa- 
ther of the lords Henry and Abraham, and he, associating with 
himself wise and sensible men, decided the matter, and the 
parties did not strive or resort to the lawyers." Concerning the 
establishment of union, he also, since the counts of Mansfeld 
were so greatly at variance, gave this illustration: "If any 
one has hewn down a tree full of knotty limbs and branches, 
and he wishes to bring it into a house or room, he must not 
seize it by the top, and thus attempt to draw it in, for in this 
case the branches will spread out and resist, being all directed 
against the house or room; and if it were attempted by force 



654 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEE 5 S LIFE. 



to drag the tree into the house or room, all the limbs would 
break : yea, the tree would not be brought into the house at 
all. Therefore the proper ' course is, to take the tree by the 
trunk, where it is hewn off; then all the limbs would be direct- 
ed from the door, and if the trunk is thus drawn in, the 
branches will gently bend together, and the tree can be 
brought into the house without any trouble, difficulty or la- 
bour. Thus it must also be when union is to be established, 
one must yield to the other. Otherwise, if each party insists 
upon its right, and no one will yield to the other, and they will 
not gently come together, union will never be established, for 
the limbs spread out and stand against the door of the house ; 
they cannot be brought in thus." 

So likewise he says : * When men are to be reconciled, that 
they may agree, one must yield to the other. For if it were 
required to establish a reconciliation between God and men, 
God would have to yield his right and lay aside his wrath, and 
we men would also have to lay aside our righteousness. For 
in paradise we attempted to be like God, being led through 
the temptation of the serpent, that is, of the devil, to conceive 
ourselves prudent and wise, as gods ; here Christ had to recon- 
cile us : he stepped in between, and became mediator between 
God and man, for which this mediator also received an um- 
pire's reward, that is, the cross ; as we are accustomed to say : 
the umpire usually fares worst. Thus Christ had also to suf- 
fer, and his sufferings and death he has bestowed upon us, for 
he died for our sins, and for our justification rose again. 
Thus the human race has again been reconciled to God. If 
our counts would also thus lay down their righteousness, union 
would soon be established ; else we will sit here, eating and 
drinking, but no union will follow, for no one will lay down 
his righteousness." 

He also related this fable : That a miller once owned an ass 
which ran away from his yard, and proceeded to the water. 
There the ass, in order to get a drink, stepped into a boat float- 
ing upon the water near the bank ; but because the boat had 
not been fastened by the fisherman, it swam off with the ass, 
and thus the miller lost the ass, and the fisherman the boat, 
boat and ass both floating away. The miller brought com- 
plaints against the fisherman for not having fastened the boat. 
The fisherman plead in defence that the miller ought to have 
kept his ass in his yard, and claimed restitution for his boat. 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHER'S LIFE. 



655 



Now the question is : Who is in the right ? Who shall bring 
suit against the other ? Did the ass take the boat away, or 
did the boat take the ass away 1 These are legal cases. To 
this one replied, and said, " Both are in the wrong, the fisherman 
for not fastening the boat, the miller for not keeping the ass in 
his yard. Censure attaches to both. It is an accidental cir- 
cumstance, both have failed through negligence." To this 
Dr. Luther said : " Such cases and examples mock the una- 
bating justice of the lawyers, for not unabating justice, but 
equity is to be sought. So the theologians also must preach, 
in order that they do not too greatly bind or loose men, that 
men may not become altogether too holy, nor altogether too 
wicked. All things are to be adjusted according to equity." 

During the three weeks that Luther was at Eisleben, he 
every evening, about eight o'clock, or earlier, left the table in 
the large room, and proceeded to his own private room. His 
servant Ambrosius, Dr. Jonas, his two sons, and one or two 
other servants, were with him in the chamber, and because of 
his weakness, warmed the pillows for him. Of Dr. Jonas and 
M. Ccelius, both of whom often assisted him to bed, he every 
evening during these three weeks joyfully took leave, often 
with the words : " Dr. Jonas and M. Michael, pray for our 
Lord God, that his church affairs may prosper, for the council 
at Trent is very angry." He also every evening stood before 
the window for a considerable time, praying to God so ear- 
nestly and diligently, that the bystanders, if they were qi$et, 
often heard several words, and were surprised. Then he 
turned away from the window, and commonly conversed with 
them for some minutes, and then retired to bed. John Sickel, 
of Nordhausen, famulus to Dr. Jonas, on the evening before 
his death, heard him with a loud voice praying before the 
window as follows : " Lord God, my heavenly Father, I call 
upon thee in the name of thy dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, 
whom through thy grace I have confessed and preached, that 
thou wouldest, according to thy promise and to the honour of 
thy name, graciously also hear me in this, after thou hast, in 
the greatness of thy mercy, according to thy gracious will, re- 
vealed to me the great apostacy, blindness and darkness of the 
pope, before thy holy day, which is not distant, but near at 
hand, being to follow upon the light of the Gospel, and also 
now commencing in all the world, that thou wouldest gra- 
ciously to the end enable the Church of mv native country, 



656 



THE LAST YEARS 0E LUTHEE's LIFE. 



without apostacy, to continue in the pure truth, and in the firm 
adherence to the confession of thy Word, that the whole world 
may be convinced that thou hast sent me for this purpose. O 
merciful Lord God. Amen. Amen." 

On Sunday, the 14th February, Luther could, at length, in- 
form his wife, that he hoped, by the permission of God, again 
to return home during that w*eek ; for God, he said, had richly 
granted his grace, that the counts had, through their counsel- 
lors, arranged nearly everything, and he intended on that day 
to invite the two brothers, count Gebhard and count Albrecht, 
to dine with him, that they might again speak to each other, 
for till then they had been mute, and had greatly exasperated 
one another by written communications. At the same time, 
however, he prayed Melanchthon to see that a messenger 
would be despatched to meet him; and if it were on the road, 
with some of the caustic remedy which he was accustomed 
to apply to his thigh, for the wound which had been opened 
for him at Wittenberg had wholly healed up, and Melanch- 
thon knew, he said, how dangerous this was. That they had 
nothing of it here, but his Kate knew where this necessary 
remedy was to be found in his room. Dr. Ratzenberger had, 
namely, as he himself relates, because of Luther's continued 
giddiness, opened a flow on his thigh, and as long as Luther 
kept this flow on his thigh open, he experienced alleviation of 
the giddiness and other bodily weakness. Having now, says 
Rafeenberger, subjected himself to much useless trouble 
and labour at Eisleben, in connection with the vexatious 
Mansfeld disputes, and all the negotiations proving in vain ; 
this prolixity so grieved him, that he was not able to pay the 
proper attention to his own health, and with the above-men- 
tioned remedy, per lapidem causticum, (lunar caustic,) to keep 
the flow open. That amidst such daily trouble, he became 
subject to great melancholy, and the flow on his thigh healed 
up, and it was to be feared, that the most intense mental ex- 
citement, combined with the stoppage of the injurious fluids, 
had caused his death. 

At the negotiations, which were once continued for two or 
three days in succession, Luther was at times present for an 
hour, at others for an hour and a half; on Wednesday, the 
17th February, however, the lords and counts and all the rest 
had prayed Luther not to come into the large room to the ne- 
gotiations before noon, but to rest. He accordingly lay in his 



THE LAST ¥EARS OP LUTHEr's LIFE. 657 

little room upon a leather bed, at times also walked about in 
the room and prayed ; he was nevertheless all the while joyful, 
and at times, too, made a passing remark, as, " Dr. Jonas and 
M. Michael, I was baptized here at Eisleben, how if I should 
remain here ? " 5 He still, however, did not dine in his own 
room, but in the large room below, making many remarks con- 
cerning beautiful passages of Holy Writ. In the evening 
previous to supper, he began to complain, that he experienced 
an oppressive sensation on his breast, though not to his heart, 
and desired them to rub him with warm cloths, after which he 
said he felt some relief. He also took supper below in the 
large room, saying : " Being alone does not afford pleasure." 
He ate with considerable relish, and was joyful even to pleas- 
antry, also making many important remarks concerning death 
and the future eternal life ; among others : " O gracious God, 
twenty years is a short time, yet would this brief space of time 
render the world desolate, if the intercourse between, the sexes 
should not, according to the creation and order of God, be con- 
tinued ; it is all unceasing creation : God collects his Church in a 
great measure from among little children : For I conceive that 
when a child, a year old, dies, there are always a thousa'nd or 
two thousand other children of the same age that die with it. 
But if I, Dr. Martin, die in my sixty-third year, I do not pre- 
sume that there are sixty or a hundred throughout the world 
that die with me ; for men do not live to a great age now. 
The reason why we aged persons have to live so long, is, that 
we may behold all the abominations of Satan, and experience 
so much malice, unfaithfulness and wretchedness in the world, 
in order to be able to testify what a wicked spirit Satan has 
been. The human race are like a sheepfold full of sheep design- 
ed for the slaughter." On that same last evening, he at table 
also proposed the question, whether in that blessed future eter- 
nal assembly and Church, we would likewise recognise each 
other ; and his opinion being earnestly requested, he said : " How 
did Adam do ? He had never in his life seen Eve, lay there 
and slept ; but when he awoke he did not say : Whence 
comest thou? What art thou? but, This is flesh taken of 
my flesh, and bone taken of my bone. Whence did he know 
that this wife had not sprung from a stone ? It was because 
he was full of the Holy Ghost, and possessed the true knowl- 
edge of God. To this knowledge and image we will in the 
next life be again restored through Christ, so that we will re- 

42 



658 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHER* S LIFE. 



cognise father and mother, and one another, by the counte- 
nance, better than Adam did Eve." Not long after these 
words, as Dr. Jonas and M. Ccelius state in their report con-, 
cerning Luther's departure, 6 he arose and went to his room, 
his two little sons, Martin and Paul, and M. Ccelius soon fol- 
lowing him. As was his custom, he reclined himself in the 
window in his room, for the purpose of offering up his prayer, 
upon which M. Ccelius went down again, and John Aurifaber, 
Vinariensis, coming up, the doctor said to him : But I again 
experience an oppressive sensation on my breast as before ; 
John replied : 1 observed, when I was preceptor to the young 
lords, that, when they experienced pain on the breast or felt 
otherwise unwell, the countess gave them unicorn to take ; 
if you wish it I will go and bring some : to which the Doctor 
said yes. John, before going to the countess, hastily ran down, 
and called Dr. Jonas and M. Ccelius, who had been below 
stairs but a few minutes, and hastily ran up. When we came 
up, he complained greatly about oppression on his breast. 
W e forthwith (as he was accustomed to do at home) rubbed 
him well with warm cloths, so that he experienced relief, and 
said that he felt better. 

Soon count Albrecht himself came running with M. John, 
bringing the unicorn, and the count said : " How do you feel, 
dear doctor ?" To which Luther replied : " There is no dan- 
ger, gracious lord, I begin to feel better." Then count 
Albrecht himself scraped the unicorn for him, and the doctor 
finding himself improving, he departed again, leaving one of 
his counsellors, Conrad Yon Wolframsdorf, besides Dr. Jonas, 
M. Ccelius and John Ambrosius with him ; then, at the doc- 
tor's desire, they twice administered to him of the scraped 
unicorn, in a spoonful of wine, Conrad Von Wolframsdorf 
having himself previously taken a spoonful (that the Doctor 
might feel less reluctance.) Upon this he, about nine o'clock, 
laid himself upon his couch and said : " If I could sleep for half 
an hour. I trust all would be well ;" then for an hour and a 
half, till 10 o'clock, he slept gently and naturally ; we, Dr. 
Jonas and M. Michael Coelius, with his servant Ambrosius, and 
his two little sons, Martin and Paul, having remained with 
him. But when, precisely at the stroke of ten, he awoke, he 
said : " Behold, are you yet sitting here ? might you not retire 
to bed ?" We replied : " No, dear doctor, now we are to sit 
up, and wait upon you." Upon this he desired to arise, and 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER'S LIFE. 



659 



rising from the couch, he went into the chamber, which com- 
municated with the room, and was secured against all draft 
from the windows, and though he did not complain then, he, 
nevertheless, on stepping over the sill of the chamber, said : " In 
the name of God, I retire to rest. In manus tuas commendo 
spiritum meum, redemisti me 1) amine Deus veritatis. (Into thy 
hands I commend my spirit. Thou hast redeemed me, Lord, 
thou God of truth.) On retiring to bed now, which was well 
prepared with warm boards and pillows, he laid himself down 
in it, reached us all his hand, and bidding us good night, said : 
" Dr. Jonas and M. Coelius and the rest of you, pray for our 
Lord God and his Gospel, that it may prosper ; for the coun- 
cil of Trent and the pernicious pope are very much enraged 
against it. During the night, Dr. Jonas, his two sons, Martin 
and Paul, his servant Ambrosius, and other servants, remained 
with him in the chamber. During these twenty-one days light 
was kept burning in the chamber all night ; that night, how- 
ever, the little room was also kept warm; he slept well, 
breathing naturally, till the clock struck one, when he awoke 
and called his servant Ambrosius to warm the room for him ; 
but as this had been kept warm the whole night, Dr. Jonas, 
when Ambrosius, the servant, had returned, asked Luther, 
whether he experienced weakness again. To which he replied : 
" Oh Lord God, how ill I feel ! alas, dear Dr. Jonas, I believe 
I shall remain here at Eisleben (where I was born and bap- 
tized !") To which Dr. Jonas and Ambrosius, the servant, 
replied : " O reverend father, God, our heavenly Father, will 
afford help, through Christ, whom you have preached." Then 
he, without assistance or support by the hand, passed through 
the chamber into the little room, and on stepping over the sill, 
he again, as he had done on retiring to bed, repeated these 
words : In manus tuas commendo spiritum meum, redemisti me. 
Domine Deus veritatis. He also passed up and down the room 
once or twice, then laid himself on the couch, and complained 
that he felt very great oppression on his breast, but that it still 
avoided the heart. Then, at his request, and as his custom 
was at Wittenberg, we rubbed him with warm cloths, and 
warmed the pillow and bolster for him, for he said, that keep- 
ing him warm was grateful to him. Previous to all this, and 
when the doctor had now laid himself upon the couch, M. 
CobUus hastily came from his chamber, which was close to ours, 
and soon after him John Aurifaber ; we then in great haste 



GOO 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



called up the host, John Albrecht, the town clerk, and his wife, 
as also the two physicians of the town, who all (as they lived 
near) were present in the space of a quarter of an hour. First 
came the host with his wife, then M. Simon Wild and Dr. 
Ludwig, the physicians ; soon after, count Albrecht with his 
wife, the countess bringing with her various spices and re- 
storatives, with which she, without intermission, most dili- 
gently endeavoured to quicken and to refresh him : but amidst 
all these things, the doctor said: "Oh merciful God, I feel very 
ill and distressed, I pass away, I shall now certainly remain at 
Eislebem" Then Dr. Jonas and M. Caelius comforted him, and 
said . " Reverend father, call upon your dear Lord Jesus Christ, 
our high priest, the only mediator ; you have perspired very 
freely, God will grant his grace, and will restore you to health." 
But the doctor answered, and said : " Yes, it is the cold sweat 
of death : I shall yield up my spirit, for the illness is increas- 
ing ;" then he proceeded and said : " O my heavenly Father, the 
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, thou God of all con- 
solation, I thank thee, that thou hast revealed to me thy dear 
Son, Jesus Christ, in whom I believe, whom I have preached 
and confessed, whom I have loved and preached, whom the 
pernicious pope and all wicked men dishonour, persecute and 
blaspheme, I pray thee, my Lord Jesus Christ, receive my soul 
into thy care. O heavenly Father, although I must leave this 
body, and be torn away from this life, I nevertheless know to 
a certainty that I shall be with thee forever, and that no one 
can pluck me out of thy hands." He also further said : God so 
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that all who 
believe in him might not perish, but have eternal life. And the 
words from the 68th Psalm : Our God is the God of salvation, 
and God the Lord delivers from death. The Magister now 
employed one more very precious remedy, which he always 
had with him in his pocket, and of this the doctor took a spoon- 
ful ; but he again said : " I pass away, I shall yield up my 
spirit ; and then hastily, three times in succession, said : Pater 
in manus tuas, commendo spiritum meum, redemisti me, Deus 
veritatis.' Having now commended his spirit into the hands of 
God, his heavenly Father, he was quiet ; we shook him, 
rubbed him, cooled him, and called him ; but he closed his 
eyes and made no reply. Then count Albrecht's spouse and 
the physicians applied to his pulse all manner of strengthen- 
ing fluids, which his wife had sent him, and which he himself 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



661 



was accustomed to employ. But as he now lay there thus 
quiet, Dr. Jonas and M. Caelius loudly called to him : " Rev- 
erend father, do you die in firm adherence to Christ and the 
doctrines which you have preached ?" and he, answering so 
that all could distinctly hear him, said : " Yes." Upon this, 
he turned himself over upon his right side, and slept nearly a 
quarter of an hour, so that we began to entertain hopes of his 
recovery. But the physicans and all present said, that it 
was a treacherous sleep, and we continually held lights in 
his face, to observe him. Meanwhile, count John Henry, of 
Schwarzenburg, with his wife, also came up, after which the 
doctor grew quite pale in his face, his feet and nose became 
cold, and once more breathing deeply, though gently, he 
yielded up his spirit, calmly and most resignedly, so that he 
did not move a finger or leg any more, and no one (this we 
testify before God and upon our consciences) could perceive 
any inquietude, torment of the body, or pain of death, but he 
fell peacefully and gently asleep in the Lord, as Simeon did. 
So that the passage, John viii., was verified in him : Verily, I 
say unto you, he that keepeth my Word shall never see death ; 
which passage, John viii., he also wrote in the Bible for the 
people, for a remembrance ; and this his writing, being the 
last from his hand, came into the possession of Elrich Hans 
Gasmann, Hohnstein treasurer, being contained in the front of 
a Hauspostil, where the dearest and beloved father thus ex- 
plains this passage : "Never see death* What incredible lan- 
guage is not this, and how opposed to manifest and daily ex- 
perience I it is nevertheless the truth, if a man sincerely con- 
templates God's Word in his heart, believes it, and falls asleep 
or dies over it, he sinks and passes away, before he becomes 
aware of death, and he certainly departs hence, blessed in the 
Word, which he has thus believed and contemplated." Below 
this was written: "Martin Luther, doctor, 1546, on the 7th 
(17th ?) of February. 

" When he had thus departed in the Lord, and count Al- 
brecht, his spouse, the count of Schwarzenburg, &c, together 
with us, were terrified, still exclaiming that the rubbing and 
the application of quickening remedial agents should be con- 
tinued, everything was done that human skill could devise, but 
the body grew only more eold and deathlike. And when the 
dead body had thus, for some three quarters of an hour, lain 
upon the couch, they formed an underbed, with three lavers 



662 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER y S LIFE. 



of featherbeds, alongside of the couch, and lifted him into it, 
hoping that God (as we all wished and prayed) would yet re- 
store him. Then before it was day, about four o'clock, there 
came the serene, highborn prince and lord, lord Wolf, prince 
of Anhalt, the honourable, well-born counts and lords, the 
brothers, Philip and John George, also the brothers, count 
Vollradt, count John, count Wolf, counts and lords of Mans- 
feld, and other lords and noblemen. The body was permitted 
to lie upon the bed, from four till after nine, that, is five whole 
hours, and many honourable citizens came, and amidst fervent 
tears and much weeping, beheld the dead body ; after that they 
clothed it in a new white Suabian gown, placed the corpse in 
the chamber upon a bed of straw, till a leaden coffin could be 
cast, into which they laid it. Many of the nobility, who, for 
the most part, had known him, male and female some several 
hundred, and a great number of the people, came and beheld 
him as he lay in the coffin. During the 18th February, the 
corpse was permitted to remain in the lodging, the house of 
Dr. Trachstet. 

Meanwhile Dr. Jonas had given the elector information con- 
cerning Luther's happy departure, having dictated the letter 
to the secretary of count Albrecht : " Since grief," added he, in 
a postscript, " prevented us from writing all ourselves." Dr. 
Jonas had at the same time requested the elector graciously to 
state his wishes with regard to the funeral, which would be 
deferred till his answer should arrive, and also to inform the 
count what he should do in the matter ; for though the count 
wished greatly to retain Luther in the earldom, as being his 
native country, he, nevertheless, submitted all to the gracious 
pleasure of the elector. 7 Count Albrecht of Mansfeld and 
prince Wolfgang of Anhalt, who had been present at Luther's 
death, also had written to the elector. * The latter concluded 
his letter with the words : " Great exertions were made in his 
behalf; there was no help with man, however, especially was 
the will of the Lord accomplished in him, and he fell quite 
gently asleep with pious aspiration to God. May God the 
Lord, in mercy, enable us to follow after him ! Amen." 

On the 19th February, the corpse, according to Christian usage, 
was with great solemnity, and amidst spiritual singing, borne 
to the chief parochial church, that of St. Andrew. Princes, 
counts and lords, among the rest also count Gebhard, with his 
two sons, the counts George and Christopher, together with 



m jits-tilts mm An 



Published hy EL Lu.dwi§ & C? H Y. 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHEr's LIFE. 663 

"their ladies, and an exceedingly large number of people, ac- 
companied and followed it. The procession having arrived 
here, and the corpse being now set down in the choir, Dr. Jo- 
nas, amidst ardent tears, delivered a sermon, concerning the 
passage, 1 Thessal. iv. 13, seq. 8 In this discourse he treated, 
firstly, of the person and of the noble gift of Dr. Luther, and 
of his having so befittingly and becomingly prepared himself 
for death. He recommended to his hearers the reading of Lu- 
ther's books, since these, better than anything else, showed what 
kind of a man he had been, what a rich spirit his had been, 
and how faithfully and diligently he had laboured in the Scrip- 
tures. Having then adduced the testimony of men who had 
early perceived Luther's noble genius and his acute, lofty in- 
tellect, he continued : " Dr. Martin Luther was possessed 
also of other rich gifts, and was a great and powerful orator. 
Again, a most able translator of the whole Bible. The chan- 
ceries have also in part learned from him, how to speak and 
to write good German." " Dr. Martin Luther also, 9 ' — said he 
further,—-" was possessed of the rich grace and the exalted light 
of the Holy Ghost, of the true knowledge of God and of Christ, 
which he did not diminish but increased, through daily diligent 
labour in the Holy Divine Scriptures, by the study and reading 
of them for the space of forty years, so that he became per- 
fectly conversant with the Holy Scriptures. He read the Bi- 
ble through a large number of times, so that he was quite at 
home in it. This he began in his twenty-fourth year, and con- 
tinued to his sixty-third year, to his death, the noble and dear 
man." 

He upon this instanced two remarks of Luther's, which, he 
said, revealed his heart ; the first was : " I wish exceedingly, 
that J, in some measure, understood the first article of our 
christian faith, concerning the creation : I believe in God the 
Father, creator of heaven and earth. But I shall willingly re- 
main an abecedarian in this article ; and I conceive that 
few men, even among the loftiest, such as Adam, Noah, Abra- 
ham and David, have understood this article. But Isaiah, 
Jeremiah, and other prophets, also understood something of it ; 
they all, however, so studied in it, that they confessed them- 
selves pupils." The other remark : " He wished that the 
article concerning redemption were deemed the highest theo- 
logy, as Paul and all the apostles deemed it." Of Luther's 
preparation for death, he said : " Having now attained to his 



664 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER* S LIFE. 



sixty-third year, he frequently gave utterance to such lofty and 
memorable words, that they might well have been compared 
to the sermons and \v0rd3 of Noah, as who also lived in very 
evil times., and said with grief: Alas, the world loves false- 
hood, such as the inventions of the pope, the monks and other 
men, and notwithstanding the great and brilliant light of the 
Gospel, the world has come to such a pass, that the sins of 
many are no longer ordinary delinquencies, but mere blas- 
phemy against God, abuses, defiance and conscious con- 
tinuance in gross vices. No one wishes any longer to be a 
sinner, no one is willing to humble himself before God, this 
will be succeeded by certain punishment." Further, he re- 
lated how Luther had written more than twenty consolatory 
passages in his psalter and little prayer-book, which he had 
always carried with him, as if he had wished to say : " I will 
once, in the hoar of my death, by the help of God, lay bold 
upon one of these passages, and wdth it prevail against Satan 
and all the powers of hell." That the first passage had been : 
Cast all your cares upon the Lord, for he careth for you. In 
accordance with this passage, he had cast all his cares, even 
in the hour of death, upon the Lord Christ, and had not 
anxiously inquired where he should remain, but had permitted 
God to care for his soul. That he had also often said : 
M I would not at all wish to have my soul left in my care. 
For if it had been left in my care, Satan would long since, as 
in a moment, have snatched it away, as a vulture does a pul- 
let or a bird." That he had further written in his Psalter 
that pas- age of St. Ambrosius, in which the latter says to his 
brethren : u I trust that I have so lived among you, that I need 
not dread to live longer with you, for we have a kind and faith- 
ful Lord. Neither do I know of any friend who has cared 
better for me, than the Lord ; therefore I do not dread to die." 
So likewise the passage of another very pious bishop, who had 
been greatly grieved at the wickedness of the world, and had 
not been able to endure it, and to whom Christ had, in the 
hour of his death, given the answer : " Thou lamentest and 
weepest ; has the world then dealt so well by thee, that thou 
forsakest it with reluctance ? Thou canst not endure the 
wickedness of the world, and yet art unwilling to depart from 
the w r orld." So likewise the passage : " Why dost thou dread 
Christ, or to be with him, when he has exhibited the greatest 
fidelity towards thee, by giving his soul for thee, and died to 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 665 

redeem thee ; dost thou imagine that Satan, or the world, will 
do for thee what Christ has done ? By what does the world ex- 
hibit such fidelity ? It deceives thee ; why dost thou wish to 
remain here ? It did not give its body and soul for thee, as did 
the Son of God, Jesus Christ. And thou canst not come to or 
be at any place where thou wilt be happier than with Christ, 
the Lord, the Son of God, who suffered and died for thee," &c. 
That this passage also was found in his little prayer-book : "If 
thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments of God, that is, 
die. For it is decreed, that all men shall and must die ; there- 
fore, if thou wilt do according to this passage, and enter into 
life, then die, and thou hast kept the commandment of God, and 
wilt live. For life is a life of sin and punishment put upon 
sin ; neither do we cease from sin, till we die. He now, that 
has died a christian death, is delivered from sin, and need no 
longer dread sin, but is freed from all the distress, tribulation 
and wretchedness of this transitory life." 

In the second part of the sermon, Dr. Jonas treated of the 
resurrection of the dead, St. Paul distinctly saying to the 
Thessalonians, that Christ would lead forth with him those 
that sleep in him, which words he represented as consoling to 
a Christian ; and he said : At the same time with those that 
have fallen asleep in Christ, " our dear father, Dr. Martin Lu- 
ther, of christian memory, will also arise, with the same body, 
countenance, hands, feet, which he had here, and with which 
we beheld him, with the same mouth with which he for twenty- 
nine entire years preached the pure Word of God to the Ger- 
man nation ; but he will have a bright, glorified body, which 
will shine like the sun, as Christ says, Matt. xiii. and Daniel 
the prophet in the 12th chapter : The teachers shall shine as 
the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to 
righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. Because Dr. Mar- 
tin therefore was a great teacher, and turned very many to 
righteousness, he will also be clothed in a beautiful brightness, 
excelling that of others, as we, by the permission of God, shall 
see." 

In the third place, Dr. Jonas represented that the death of 
the eminent prophet, Dr. Martin, certainly portended some- 
thing great. " For before two years will be passed," said he, 
" we shall learn this by experience above others, the papists, 
canons, priests, monks and nuns, who rejoice in Dr. Martin 
Luther's death and departure, for he will leave behind him 



666 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHEr's LIFE. 



great virtue, and in a few years they will wish that Dr. Lu* 
ther were yet alive, and will willingly hear him then, and if 
possible dig him out of the earth again ; but they will have de- 
layed too long. If during his life they had but given heed to 
his warning, and followed his faithful advice, it. would have 
been profitable to them both as regards body and soul." He 
further showed that it was evident from the Holy Scriptures 
and from history, that when the times had been worst, the 
most eminent prophets and men of God had always lived pre- 
viously, and their death had always been succeeded by great 
and fearful punishments. That Germany, if it did not repent, 
would thus also, after Luther's death, certainly be visited with 
fearful punishment. That Augustine, at his death, had per- 
ceived the evil that portended his native country, and had been 
greatly distressed because of it ; that God had nevertheless 
permitted his pure Word to be preached in Africa for two hun- 
dred years thereafter. That this had been accomplished and 
obtained through prayer. Wherefore they should now also be- 
gin to lead a penitent life, and earnestly to pray, that God 
would continue to preserve his Word to them after Luther's 
death," &c. 

On the 19th February, in the evening, they received the let- 
ter of the elector of Saxony, who had (on the 18th) replied, 
that this news had exceedingly grieved and distressed him, but 
that because it had thus come to pass, -it was to be left to the 
omnipotence of God, who controlled all things. " Although 
we," said he, " would have most gladly seen it, if said Martin, 
deceased, had, as an aged, decrepit man, been excused from 
these affairs." He declared it as his wish, that the body 
should be brought from Eisleben to Wittenberg, there to be in- 
terred in the castle church, wherefore he desired the counts to 
cause the corpse to be sent, and also to be conducted and 
brought as far as Bitterfeld. The counts complied, but at the 
same time said : " We had hoped that your electoral grace 
would have permitted the corpse of the doctor to remain, inas- 
much as he was both born and baptized here at Eisleben, and 
has also here, to the great grief of all christian men, been 
called away by the Almighty from this vale of tears to eter- 
nal life." 

Therefore on Saturday, the 20th February, another sermon 
was preached, which was delivered by M. Michael Coelius, con- 
cerning the passage, Isaiah Mi. 1,2: The righteous perisheth, 



THE LAST YEARS Of LUTHEr's LIFE. 667 

&c. In this sermon he, firstly, spoke of Dr. Martin as a man 
and a teacher, but declares that he did not wish to describe 
his lineage, station, dignity, virtues and manners, but only the 
office which he had filled in the Church : the office, namely, 
which Elias and Jeremiah, John the Baptist, or one of the 
apostles, had filled at their time. For at the time when God 
had called this man into the office, the Church had been just 
in such a posture, he said, as it had been at the times of Elias, 
Jeremiah, or John. As Elias had at his time attacked and 
crushed idolatry, so Luther, he said, had assailed the mighty 
idol of papal indulgences, and cast it to the ground. And as 
Elias had put to death the priests of Baal : so he had, with 
the sword of the divine Word, destroyed the power of the 
mass-priests and their idol. That, on the other hand, how- 
ever, he had, like John the Baptist, taught and preached chris- 
tian and true repentance, showing how and by what means a 
true knowledge of sin is produced ; how forgiveness of it is ob- 
tained, what the proper fruits of repentance are, how we are 
to serve and to call upon God, what stations have been insti- 
tuted by God, what is obligatory upon every one in his station, 
and that, in short, God had, through him, opened the Holy 
Scriptures, which before had been a locked up and sealed 
book, so that they had not, since the times of the apostles, been 
read with such understanding as they were then. That this 
man, who at this time had walked in the spirit and the power 
of Elijah, and been a forerunner of the last day, a true Elias, 
was 'now no more, and that we properly complained with 
Elisha : " O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the 
horsemen thereof." " But we are not to omit either," said he, in 
concluding this part, " like Elisha, to take up the mantle of 
this Elijah, that is, his books which he wrote under the influ- 
ence of the Holy Spirit, and has left behind him, that we may 
also obtain his spirit from them. For though, according to the 
body, he is dead, he still lives, according to the spirit ; and in 
his books, he will also, by the help of God, after his death, by 
his writings be the death of the pope, as during his life he was 
his pestilence ; wherefore let us keep to these books, love and 
esteem them, and thank God for them, which lead us into the 
Holy Scriptures." 

In the second place, Ccelius related in his sermon how Luther 
had died : " For," said he, " he is not yet buried, and not dead 
more than one day, and there are already found men, as I un- 



668 THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 

derstand, who, being Urged on by the evil spirit, circulate the 
report, that he was found dead in his bed. Now, I have no 
doubt, but that he, who is a liar from the beginning, will in- 
vent various other and more deceptive falsehoods ; for he is 
now no longer concerned about Dr. Luther ; him, God has 
delivered from his grasp, and he can no longer assail him, but 
his aim is against the doctrine, this he would gladly disparage 
and extirpate." 

In the third place, he proposed the question, why Luther had 
died just at this time, when he was so greatly needed in the 
Christian Church, which the pope, with his council of Trent, 
and all his hellish powers, was opposing, in order to crush the 
Word of Truth. " Many," said he, " will here imagine that 
various things have caused his death, and some will say : An 
old man ought not to have gone on a journey at this time, and 
in such cold weather ; he ought to have been excused from 
these negotiations. If he had remained at Wittenberg, and 
had observed this and that, he would still be alive, &c. It is 
true, with reason such thoughts and conjectures pass for some- 
thing ; but he that yields to them is conducted into the raging 
sea ; and as this, excited by the winds, can never have any rest, 
so such thoughts in this and other cases prevent a man from 
finding rest and peace. Therefore, we must here recur to the 
children's creed and say: I believe in God, the Father Almighty, 
creator of heaven and earth, by which is meant, not only that 
God created the heavens, the earth, and all creatures, but 
also, that he governs and preserves them, that without his per- 
mission, not a hair falls from our head, as Christ says, Luke xxi., 
and David, Psalm xxxix. : Lord, make me to know mine end 
and the measure of my days, what it is, that I may know how 
frail I am. So also Job, xiv., says : The days of man are de- 
termined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast ap- 
pointed his bounds that he cannot pass. Through these words 
the Holy Ghost leads us from the thoughts of our reason and 
delivers us from the raging sea, guiding us to a safe port, so 
that we must pause here and say : it is the will of God, God has 
thus ordered it and wished it, that he should close his life in 
this town of Eisleben, in which he was born and baptized. 
But from what cause he has been called away by God at this 
time, that is another question." The Scriptures, he said, set 
forth more than one reason why each person died at his time. 
" Children and the young," he said, " God permitted to die in 



THE LAST YEARS Of LUTHEr's LIFE. 



66Q 



their innocence, in order to rescue them ; tyrants he removed 
for a consolation to his people and to deliver his Church from 
them : but when prophets died, God commonly intended 
that punishment, the infliction of which he, for their sakes, had 
delayed in this life, should follow. "So it was also to be 
feared," he said, " that God had removed this his servant, 
because of our sins, wherefore it was high time to repent and 
to weep, not over this man, who now rested peacefully in God, 
but because we with our sins provoked God to punishment." 

In the fourth place, he yet treated of the present condition of 
the man according to the body. That God, namely, had de- 
livered him from the bloody jaws of the pope and his adherents, 
and brought him to rest, so that they could no longer disturb 
him, for, as the prophet said, he had attained to peace and 
rested in his chamber ; but that, according to the spirit, he was 
with God and his Son, and dwelt among the blessed angels 
and the elect of God. He concluded with the prayer : " May 
God, in his stead, again send his Church another prophet, and 
cause an Elijah, who may possess a twofold portion of his 
spirit, and reward the Roman Babylon twofold more than has 
been done thus far. May we also, enlightened by the Holy 
Spirit, suffer ourselves through his books to be conducted into 
the Holy Scriptures, that we may also blessedly close this, our 
life, in the true faith. Amen." 

Upon this they, between 12 and 1 o'clock, with all solemnity, 
and with Christian ceremonies and singing, conveyed the 
corpse from the town of Eisleben ; the aforesaid princes, 
counts and lords again, as before at the procession to the 
church, following after it, and together with a large number of 
people, and amidst many tears and much weeping, conducting 
it till without the outermost gate. 

Previous to all this, two painters had taken the likeness of 
the dead countenance, the one from Eisleben, when the corpse 
yet lay in the room upon the bed, the other, the artist Lukas 
Fortennagel, of Halle, when it had already lain in the coffin 
one night. 

On the way from Eisleben to Halle the bells were rung in 
nearly all the villages, men, women and children running out 
from the villages, and exhibiting signs of sincere grief. 
After five o'clock they arrived before Halle. When they ap- 
proached nearer to the town, the citizens, male and female, 
came out to a great distance over the paved road to meet the 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



corpse, and when they arrived with it at the gates of the 
town, there came to meet it the two pastors of St. Ulrich and 
Moritz, (for the superintendent, Dr. Jonas, rode after the corpse 
in a carriage,) and all the ministers of the Gospel, likewise the 
honourable council of Halle, the whole school, the school- 
teacher with all the boys, with the usual funeral ceremonies 
and singing ; also a great collection of people, among whom 
there were many honourable citizens, matrons, young women, 
and children, all with such loud lamentation and weeping, 
that it could be heard behind in the last carriage. When near 
St. Moritz they proceeded into the street up the old market, as 
well as when they were upon the bridge and in the gate, there 
was such a press about the hearse, that they were often 
obliged to halt in the street and upon the market, and very 
late, nearly half-past six o'clock, arrived at the church of out 
lady. All parts of the church were crowded with people, and 
the psalm : From deep distress, &c, was there sung amidst 
sobs and tears, with mournful, broken voices. If it had not 
been so late, a sermon would have been delivered ; but as it 
was, the corpse was hastily borne into the sacristy, and there 
guarded by several citizens. 

On the following morning, Sunday, the 21st February, about 
six o'clock^ the corpse, amidst the ringing of all the bells and with 
an honourable Christian procession of the whole council, of all 
the preachers and schools, as on the evening previous, was 
brought out before the gate of the town, in order to be conveyed 
to Bitterfeld. Towards noon the corpse, together with the two 
counts, and those that had conducted it, was received on the bor- 
ders, and in the town itself, by the commissaries of the elector, 
they being the captain Erasmus Spiegel of Wittenberg, Gengolf 
von Heilingen of Duben, and Dietrich von Taubenheim of 
Brehna, and this evening conveyed as far as Kemberg, where, 
as also at Bitterfeld, it was received and honoured with the 
usual Christian ceremonies. 

At Wittenberg the information concerning Luther's death 
had been received on the 19th February, through the letters of 
Dr. Jonas to the elector, and to the pastor of the parochial 
church, Dr. John Bugenhagen. The students having, on this 
day, at nine o'clock in the forenoon, assembled to attend to the 
lecture on the Epistle to the Romans, Melanchthon addressed 
to them the following words: " Dear young men, you know 
that we lately began the grammatical exposition of the Epistle 



TttE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



671 



to the Romans, in which epistle there is contained the true doc- 
trine concerning the Son of God ; which God, according to his 
special mercy, has, in these times, revealed to us through the 
reverend father, our greatly beloved teacher, Dr. Martin Lu- 
ther. On this day, however, we have received such sad news, 
and it has occasioned to me such great distress, that I do not 
know whether I can in future discharge the duties which de- 
volve upon me as a teacher. I communicate this infor- 
mation to you according to the advice of the other gentlemen, 
that you may know what the true state of the ease is, and that 
you may not credit false reports, as they are accustomed on 
such an occasion to be circulated here and there," Having 
then given them a brief account of Luther's departure, he con- 
cluded with the words : " Alas ! he is no more, thg chariot and 
horseman of Israel who in these last sad times has directed the 
Church. For not through the acuteness of human intellect, 
has the doctrine concerning the forgiveness of sin and faith 
in the Son of God been discovered, but it has been revealed to 
us by God, through this man, whom he has raised up. Let us 
therefore love his memory and the doctrine inculcated by him ; 
let us be more humble than hitherto, and attentive to the great 
tribulations and the mighty changes which will succeed this 
fall. But thee, O Son of God, Emanuel, who were crucified 
and again raised from the dead for us, I pray, that thou 
wouldst govern thy Church, preserve and protect it. Amen." 

On the 21st February the students had, through a public no- 
tice of the rector, been called upon to attend the funeral, which 
it was supposed would be after the middle of the day ; about 
this time, however, letters were received, which stated, that the 
corpse would not yet arrive on this day, but on the next day 
about nine o'clock. When therefore on Monday, the 22& Feb- 
ruary, the counts of Mansfeld, Hans and Hans Hoier, who had 
ridden from Eisleben with about forty-five equipped horses, 
brought the corpse before Wittenburg to the Elsterthor, there 
were assembled there, as the elector had directed, the rector, 
the magisters and the doctors, and the whole university, the 
honourable council, the whole congregation, and all the citi- 
zens. The ministers of the Gospel 9 and the school prece- 
ded the corpse, with the usual christian singing and ceremonies, 
from the Elstergate through the whole length of the town to 
the castle church. In advance of the corpse, there rode the 
aforesaid commissaries of the elector of Saxony, and the two 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHER*S LIFE. 



young counts of Mansfeld, in all about ninety-five horsemen. 
Next after the carriage upon which the corpse Was conveyed, 
the wife of the doctor, lady Catharine Luther, together with 
several matrons, rode in a small carriage ; then followed his 
three sons. John. Martin, Paul, his brother Jacob Luther, citi- 
zen of Mansfeld. his sister's sons, George and Cyriacus Kauf- 
mann, also citizens of Mansfeld, and others of his relatives. 
Then came the Rector Magnificus of the university. Dr. Au- 
gustine Schurf, with several young princes, counts and barons, 
who prosecuted their studies at Wittenberg, then Dr. Gregorius 
Brack, M. Philip Melanchthon, Dr. Justus Jonas, Dr. John Bu- 
genhagen, Dr. Kaspar Cruciger, Dr. Jerome Schurf, and others 
of the oldest doctors of the university of Wittenberg, then all 
the doctors and magisters, the honourable councils, together 
with the counsellors, then the whole number of the students, 
and finally, the citizens, matrons, young women and the chil- 
dren of many honourable people, amidst loud weeping and la- 
mentation. In all the streets, and also upon the market, the 
crowd was so great, that the like had never before been seen 
at Wittenberg. 

The corpse having been brought into the castle church, it 
was set down opposite the pulpit. Then they, firstly, sung 
christian funeral hymns ; afterwards, Dr. Bugenhagen ascended 
the pulpit, and, in the presence of several thousand people, 
delivered a sermon, concerning 1 Thessal. iv. 13, 14: "Dear 
friends." said he, " I am now to deliver a sermon at the funeral 
of our dearest father, Dr. Martin, deceased, and I willingly do 
so : but what or how shall I speak, when I can scarcely utter a 
word, for weeping ? Whither shall I turn from you ? I shall, 
undoubtedly, by my discourse, only increase the lamentation 
and sorrowing. For how is it possible for any of us not to 
mourn, now that God has visited us with this affliction, and 
taken from us the noble and dear man. the honourable Dr. 
Martin Luther, through whom he has bestowed unspeakable 
gifts and blessings, not only upon us, but upon all the churches 
in German lands, as also upon many in other countries, through 
whom he also has gloriously put down the kingdom of Satan, 
so much disgraceful idolatry and human tradition, yea, as St. 
Paul says, doctrines of devils, throughout the world, and has 
through his Gospel revealed to us the exalted, great, heavenly 
mystery concerning his dear Son. Jesus Christ (as St. Paul, in 
the Epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians also denominates 




mm BTOEN1A©] 
called TPdDciniinniersnniTiirSo 

Published ly H.Imdwi£ & C°N Y. 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHER S LIFE. 673 

it.) Through this our dear father, Christ has maintained his 
Gospel, against the pernicious pope, and various sects and 
tyrants, yea, against all the gates of hell ; to this dear man he 
gave the spirit of power and firmness, so that he dreaded no 
one, no matter how great and mighty he was ; and so joyfully 
and unwaveringly did he abide in the Gospel and the pure 
doctrine, that the world often judged him to be too excessively 
severe in his rebukes and reproofs, as the Jews and the Phari- 
sees also, those bitter and poisonous vipers, accused Christ, for it 
pained and vexed them sorely, that they were rebuked by the 
pure truth ; but the wholesome doctrine they after all would 
not receive. This exalted teacher and prophet, whom God had 
commissioned to reform the Church, he has now taken from 
us ; alas ! how can we refrain from mourning and weeping ? 
How is it possible for us to obey the beloved Paul here, when 
he says : Ye shall not sorrow concerning those that sleep ? But, 
he adds, like those that have no hope. But we, who believe, 
know, that those who have fallen asleep in Christ will again 
arise to a better life, in which we shall again meet them and 
be eternally with them. But the world was not worthy, 
that it should longer possess this dear man of God, further 
to calumniate and to persecute him, although this same 
ungrateful world has received much good through this 
great man, especially in having been delivered from so 
many tyrannical oppressions of the pernicious papacy ; so that 
many of the adversaries (in whom there is any wisdom or 
understanding) would rather that the dear man were still 
alive." 

" This I have said by way of introduction, to show that we 
verily have great cause for deep sorrow, because we have lost 
so great and dear a man. And of a truth, (if that is of any 
avail,) we sorrow not alone, but many thousand Christians 
scattered abroad, both kings, princes and cities, and all that 
have known the Gospel of Truth, sorrow with us. The perni- 
cious present pope, the cardinal of Mayence, and duke Henry, 
(all of whom he had greatly exasperated through the truth,) 
have not been permitted ever to rejoice over the death of this 
man, and I trust that the adversaries will not long rejoice 
over his death, for the person indeed has departed in Christ, 
but the powerful, blessed, divine doctrine of this dear man, 
still blooms in vigorous life. For he undoubtedly was the 

43 



674 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE, 



angel of whom we read, Rev. xiv., that he flew through the 
midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel," &e. 

Having then applied this passage to Luther, he called upon 
his hearers, that they should in their grief also acknowledge 
the goodness and mercy of God, for having, through his Spirit, 
one hundred years after the death of the pious John Huss, 10 
raised up this man against the doctrines of Antichrist, and that 
they should rejoice with the dear father Luther, who had thus 
departed in the highest apostolical and prophetical office, the 
duties of which he had faithfully discharged. He had now 
obtained, he said, what he had often desired ; and if he should 
now return again, he would rebuke such sorrowing and mourn- 
ing on his account, with the words of Christ, John xvi. : If 
you loved me you would rejoice, for I go to the Father, and you 
would gladly wish me the eternal rest and ]oy. " I remem- 
ber," added he, " that when our revered and beloved father, 
Dr. Martin Luther, beheld any falling sweetly asleep in the 
confession of Christ, he would say : God grant that I may also 
fall thus sweetly asleep in the arms of Christ, and may not be 
tormented with lingering pains of death in the body ; the will 
of the Lord, however, be done !" upon which he gave an ac- 
count of a pious man of the university of Wittenberg, M. 
xlmbrosius Bernhardus, of Juterbock, whom God had freed 
from all feeling of pain during his last illness, so that he had 
spoken as if he had already been in another life. If they had 
spoken to him concerning Christ, he said, he had returned 
thanks for the great mercy and salvation which our heavenly 
Father bestows upon us ; but if they had attempted to con- 
verse with him, concerning his beloved wife, children, house, 
money, debts, &c, he had again wandered in his mind. " This 
blessed and joyful account," continued he then, "concerning 
Magister Ambrosius, our beloved brother, I have gladly given 
now, for two reasons : in the first place, that I may, by means 
of it, somewhat restrain you, my beloved hearers, from the 
lamentation and weeping which have very properly come upon 
us. God has afflicted us ; may He in his mercy comfort us 
again ! In the second place, because this account serves to 
illustrate the point, of which we treat. For this magister 
Ambrosius was the brother-in-law of Dr. Martin, wherefore 
the latter visited him so often in his illness ; and when he spoke 
to him concerning Christ, Ambrosius also spoke of Christ, ac- 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER's LIFE. 



675 



cording to the blessed Gospel, as said before : but when he 
attempted to speak with him concerning his wife, children, 
property, &c, Ambrosius knew nothing of such things, but 
immediately began to wander in his mind, joyfully speaking 
of other things, as remarked before ; especially did he with 
laughing and gratitude say to the doctor : Good doctor, I thank 
you for your visit ; I shall again visit you some evening, when 
we will take a good collation together, and converse with one 
another about many agreeable things. Now. indeed, this may 
be accomplished in the eternal life, whither they both have 
journeyed. Here in this life they did not come together in this 
way. When Dr. Martin left him now, the doctor said to me : 
He is departed, he knows nothing of death ; when we attempt 
to advise him how he is to arrange his affairs, he knows 
nothing of this world and life any more, but is joyful, laughs, 
speaks of other things to us in his joyful mental wanderings, 
signifying to us by such words : I have nothing further to ar- 
range or to regulate upon the earth. May God also shortly 
grant me such a peaceful and blessed death ! why should I re- 
main longer upon the earth ? Magister Ambrosius having 
now been buried in the middle of winter, in the year 1542, in 
the month of January, Dr. Martin not long after passing the 
grave with me, pointed to the place with his finger, and said : 
He did not know that he was sick, neither did he know that 
he died, and yet he was not without confession of Christ ; there 
he lies, he does not know yet that he is dead. Dear Lord 
Jesus Christ, take me also thus from this vale of tears to thy- 
self, &lc. Such language I was often constrained to hear from 
my beloved father ; and when he perceived my displeasure, at 
times also perhaps from my words, he said to me : Pray our 
dear Lord God, that he may shortly take me hence ; I can ac- 
complish nothing more upon the earth, neither am I of any fur- 
ther use ; assist me with your prayer ; pray not that I may live 
longer. Now every one can easily imagine how I replied to 
such words from my beloved father, and dearest doctor. All 
this shows how anxiously he desired in his last days to be de- 
livered from this vale of tears, and to be with Christ, by which 
he also sung his consummatum est, (it is finished,) and com- 
mended his spirit into the hands of his heavenly Father." He 
added, that there had also been indications, that the dear fa- 
ther would journey into a better land, he having often, during 
the whole of the last year, said, that he desired to remove to 



676 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER's LIFE. 



another place ; that he had also left home more frequently du- 
ring this year than formerly. This had been an indication, he 
said, that he would begin his journey into the eternal life. 

Having now given a brief statement concerning Luther's 
blessed departure, he referred to Bishop St. Martin, of whom 
report said, that all heretics had grown pale at the mention of 
his name, that there had been great weeping and lamentation 
at his death, among all believing and true Christians, that there 
had, moreover, been a dispute and strife between a number 
of cities and countries, as to which was to retain his body, 
and to have it buried with it. All this, he said, had also been 
the case with this holy apostle and prophet of Christ, the 
preacher and evangelist in German lands, Dr. Martin. 

In conclusion, he exhorted his hearers to reform, and to call 
upon our heavenly Father, that he would preserve his be- 
lievers in the pure doctrine, through Christ defend them 
against sects, tyrants, and other gates of hell, and preserve 
faithful and true preachers to his Church. And if the impu- 
dent calumniations of the adversaries and our own ingratitude 
should be the occasion of great calamity and punishment, he 
prayed God to fulfil and to verify the prophetic epitaph which 
Luther had composed for himself: Pestis eram vivus, moriens 
tua mors ero, papa! (Living I was thy pest, and dying I'll be 
to thee death, O pope I) 11 

After this sermon by Bugenhagen, Melanchthon delivered 
a Latin funeral oration, which began thus: 64 Although in this 
general distress, grief and tears choke my voice ; I must 
nevertheless say something in this large assembly, not after 
the manner of the heathens, only in praise of the dead, but 
much rather for the purpose of reminding the assembly of the 
marvellous guidance and perils of the Church, that we may 
consider for what we should be concerned, for what we ought 
especially to pray, and what examples it behooves us to imi- 
tate. For, although wicked men imagine that every thing 
happens by accident and mere chance, because in this life 
things are so perplexed ; we will nevertheless permit such va- 
rious and clear testimonies of God to direct us, will distinguish 
between the Church and the ungodly multitude, be assured, 
that God in heaven certainly governs and preserves it ; we 
will rightly examine the mode of its government, learn to 
know its true guides, contemplate their lives, and choose for 
ourselves the chief teachers and leaders, whom we will then 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



677 



faithfully follow and esteem. Of such important things we 
must think and speak, as often as mention is made of the re- 
vered man, Dr. Martin Luther, our most beloved father and 
teacher. Although many wicked men most bitterly hate him, 
yet will we, who know that he was a minister of the Gospel 
whom God raised Up, love and praise him, and collect the tes- 
timonies which demonstrate that his doctrines do not consist 
in seditious opinions, spread in the heat of fanatical excite- 
ment, but that they are an exhibition of the divine will and 
of the true worship of God, an exposition of the Holy Scrip- 
tures and a declaration of God's Word, that is, of the Gospel 
of Jesus Christ." After this introduction, Melanchthon treated 
of the office which Luther had filled in the Church, showed 
whom and how God called to this service ; then enumerated 
the continuous series of chosen servants of God, as a noble 
testimony of the presence of God in his Church, and said, that 
Luther was to be numbered among this noble band of excel- 
lent men, whom God had sent to collect and to build up his 
Church, and who were to be looked upon as the noblest orna- 
ments of the human race. 

The orator then directed attention to the great truths which 
had been brought to light through Luther ; and observed that 
many, nevertheless, exclaimed against him as having distract- 
ed the Church, and having occasioned irremediable divisions in 
it ; to which he, however, replied : that this was always the 
case in the government of the Church, for if the Holy Ghost 
rebuked the world, divisions were occasioned through the ob- 
stinacy of the ungodly; that the censure, however, attached to 
those who would not hear the Son of God. Luther, he said, had 
brought the true and wholesome doctrine to light, had dissipat- 
ed the thick mist which had hung over the true doctrine of re- 
pentance, and had shown what constituted true repentance, 
and how hearts that were terrified in view of the wrath ot 
God, might be certainly comforted. He had also, he said, ex- 
plained the doctrine of St. Paul, that man is justified only through 
faith, had pointed out the difference between the Law and the 
Gospel, between spiritual and temporal righteousness. He had 
taught how God ought to be worshipped, namely, in faith, and 
with a good conscience, and had pointed to the only Mediator, 
the Son of God, who sits at the right hand of the Father, not 
to images or to the saints. He had shown what were true 
good works, acceptable to God, and had, by his defence of 



678 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



the temporal stations, conferred such honour upon these, 
as no other man had done in his writings. Finally, he 
had also separated the childish observance of human cere- 
monies and those usages and traditionary rites which interfere 
with the true worship of God. from necessary works. And in 
order that the divine doctrine thus brought to light might also 
descend to posterity, he had rendered the prophetical and apos- 
tolical writings into German, and this with such plainness, 
that his translation afforded more light to the reader than 
most commentaries did. He had in addition also written 
many expositions, which far excelled all others, as Erasmus 
also testified. And as at the building of Jerusalem, the build- 
ers had built with one hand and with the other had wielded 
the sword, so he also had fought in the advance against the 
enemies of the truth, and at the same time had written 
many excellent expositions of the heavenly doctrine, and 
had afforded consolation to many consciences through his 
pious advice. Since a great part ol these doctrines now were 
beyond the comprehension of the human understanding, it 
could not but be confessed, he said, that Luther had been 
taught by God himself. Many also, he said, had beheld the 
contests, in which he had learned, that we must through faith 
become assured, that God receives and hears us. Therefore, he 
said, we ought forever to praise God for the blessings which 
he through Luther conferred upon his Church. Neither, said 
he, had the apple of discord been cast into the Church through 
his doctrines, as some maintained, for all pious and god-fear- 
ing men would soon, by a comparison of the different doc- 
trines, discover which doctrine "was in accordance with the 
pure Word of God, and which was not ; yea, all pious men 
had already decided upon this disputed point, he said, for since 
God had wished to reveal himself through the mouth of the 
prophets and the apostles, his Word durst not be deemed am- 
biguous, as the pages of the Sibyl. Some also, he said, and 
those not malicious men, had complained of Luther as having 
been too severe ; in reply to which he would only say. what 
Erasmus had frequently said : " Because of the obstinacy of their 
maladies, God has given to these last times a severe physician." 
God, he said, did not either govern his Church according to 
human counsels, and did not wish that all his instruments 
should be alike. That men of inferior attainments and mode- 
rate views always were dissatisfied with vehement zeal, 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHER^ LIFE. 



679 



whether it were good or evil. It could not be denied, how- 
ever, he said, that too great vehemence often operated very 
prejudicially, but that, even though a man were somewhat 
harsh, if he were only upon all main points a good man, he 
was deserving of all praise ; and whoever, as Paul said, fought 
the good fight in the Church, preserving faith and a good con- 
science, was pleasing to God and deserved to be esteemed. 

" That Luther was such a man," continued he, " we know. 
For he not only firmly defended the purity of doctrine, but also 
preserved his conscience inviolate. Who has known him, and 
does not know how friendly he was, how amiable in his inter- 
course, nothing less than contentious or quarrelsome ? Yet 
everything in him was possessed of such a dignity as was be- 
coming such a man, his heart was without guile, his lips over- 
flowed with profitable instruction. Or rather, as St. Paul says, 
all that was found in him, which is true, which is honest, 
which is just, which is pure, which is lovely and of good re- 
port, so that his peculiar vehemence evidently proceeded from 
zeal for the truth, not from a love of strife. To this we all, 
and many others, can testify. But if my design were to eulo- 
gize this man, what a noble and instructive discourse could I 
not deliver, concerning the remainder of his life, which being 
prolonged to his sixty-third year, was a continued exhibition 
of the greatest and most strenuous exertions in the attain- 
ment of piety and of useful knowledge. No impure desires 
were ever observed in him, no insurrectionary designs, much 
rather did he repeatedly dissuade from a resort to arms, he 
did not combine intrigue with the affairs of the Church, in 
order to procure power for himself or his friends. This I con- 
ceive to be such wisdom and virtue, to which it is impossible 
to attain by means of mere human efforts, it requiring divine 
power and grace to curb the dispositions of the soul, especially 
of one so vehement, lofty, and ardent, as Luther's was." 

What shall I say of his other virtues ? Often, when I visited 
him, I found him in tears, praying for the whole Church. 
For he nearly every day devoted a particular time to the re- 
petition of several psalms, among which he with sighs and 
tears mingled his petitions, and he often expressed himself dis- 
satisfied with those who. either from indolence or because ot 
being too much occupied, as they said, conceived it to be suffi- 
cient to pray to God with a few brief aspirations. Therefore, 
said he, we have forms of prayer prescribed to us according 



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THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHEr's LIFE. 



to the will of God, that our hearts may be kindled through the 
reading of them, yea, that we may also with the mouth confess 
the God upon whom we call. Therefore, we also observed, 
when many important consultations occurred concerning pub- 
lic and dangerous affairs, what gigantic strength of mind he 
possessed, he being wholly undismayed, and not to be awed into 
compliance by any kind of terrors. For he relied upon a holy 
anchor, that is, upon the protection of God, and suffered noth- 
ing whatever to rob him of faith. He was also possessed of 
such acuteness- of intellect, that, in difficult cases, it was he 
alone who perceived what was useful. Nor was he at all* as 
many conceive, regardless of the general good and of the 
wishes of others, for he well understood the common good, 
and he saw through the dispositions and inclinations of all 
with whom he lived, most clearly. But although he was 
possessed of such lofty and admirable understanding, he, nev- 
ertheless, with the greatest eagerness, perused the writings of 
the fathers of the Church, both old and new, and all histories, 
the examples of which he applied to the affairs in hand, with 
admirable skill. Of his eloquence we possess unfading memo- 
rials: it was so great that he is undoubtedly to be compared to 
the greatest of orators." 

After this delineation, Melanchthon said, that we properly 
lamented that such a man had been taken away, but that we 
ought also to rejoice and to congratulate him, that he enjoyed 
the communion of God and his Son, of the prophets and apos- 
tles, for which he had always longed in faith, &c. In connec- 
tion with this, he said, that many in this assembly had no 
doubt once heard Luther explain the passage : Henceforth you 
shall see the heavens open, and the angels of God ascending and 
descending upon the Son of Man, and added: "These great and 
lofty things he now himself beholds ; and as he formerly, under 
the guidance of Christ, ascended and descended with the ser- 
vants of the Gospel, so now he beholds how the angels are sent 
by him, and with them enjoys the contemplation of the divine 
wisdom, and of the divine works." Further, he says: "We 
remember with what delight he was accustomed to speak of 
the governments, counsels, perils, awakenings of the prophets, 
and how skilfully he compared the times of the Church with 
one another, so that he indicated by it how greatly and 
ardently he longed for these noble men. With these he now 
associates and rejoices, that he can hear them themselves, and 



THE LAST YEARS OP LUTHEr's LIFE. 681 

hold converse with them, and they bid him, their fellow_ 
labourer, a joyful welcome, and all return thanks together to 
the Lord, who collects and preserves his Church." 

In conclusion, he calls upon his hearers diligently to remem- 
ber the virtues of this man, and the blessings bestowed through 
him, to imitate his virtues, often to contemplate his life and 
his doctrines, and in heartfelt prayer to return thanks to God, 
(which he also forthwith did himself, in a prayer of thanks,) 
but finally, because the death of great men frequently prognos- 
ticated punishment to those that succeed us, to remember the 
impending dangers, and also to arrange their lives and studies 
in a Christian manner, always bearing rn mind, that where 
the pure doctrine of the Gospel was retained, heard, learned, 
and loved, there was the abode and Church of God, as the Son 
of God said : He that loveth me, keepeth my words, and my Father 
will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with 
him. " Let this noble promise," said he, in conclusion, " excite 
us to learn the truth of God, and to remember that the human 
race, and the temporal kingdoms, are preserved for the sake ot 
the Church ; and let us in the spirit contemplate the future 
glory, to which God has called us ; for he did not reveal him- 
self through such clear testimonies in vain, he did not send his 
Son in vain, but for those whom he truly loves, and for them 
he cares who esteem these blessings. Amen." 

When the oration was concluded, several learned magisters, 
w*ho had been appointed for the purpose, took up the corpse 
and let it down into the grave, and thus, that dear instrument 
of the Holy Spirit, the body of the revered Dr. Martin, was 
committed to the earth in the castle church, at Wittenberg, not 
far from the pulpit, (in which, during his life, he had delivered 
many a powerful christian sermon, in the presence of the 
electors and princes of Saxony, and of the whole Church,) and 
as St. Paul says : 1 Cor. xv. : Being sown in weakness, that it 
may arise on that day to eternal glory. 

Authorities. — Letters, vol, 5, No. 1933, 2035, 49, 54, 2905. Seck- 
endorf Hist. Lutheranismi, lib. HI., p. 634. Let. No. 2301. Melanchth. 
Epp. in the Corp. Ref. T. V. No. 3337. Let. No. 2293, 2307. The 
first sermon at Halle, Works, (Leipz. ed.,) vol. 12, p. 356, seq. Seckend. 
1. c. Let. No. 23 1 0. The last sermon at Wittenberg, Works, vol. 12, p. 
371. Seckend. p. 631. Mathes. 14. Pred. Works, vol. 21, p. 693, seq. 
(where the date of the arrival at Halle is to be corrected from Let. No. 
2312.) Tischr. ed. Stangw. p. 829, (Comp. Mathes. as before, and 
Keil, vol. 3, p. 261.) Let. No. 2312. The second sermon at Halle, 



682 



THE LAST YEARS OF LUTHEr's LIFE. 



Works, vol. 12, p. 363, seq. Let. No. 1214, 18, 20. The four 
sermons delivered at Eisleben and written down by Aurifaber, with 
preface to them, Works, vol. 12, p. 402. The report of Dr. J. Jonas 
and M. Michael Coelius concerning Luther's death, Works, vol. 21, 
p. 693, seq., forms the thread of the narration for the last days of 
his life to his burial. The following authorities, however, have been 
used in addition, according to their order : Letter of Dr. Jonas to 
the elector in Seckend. lib. III., p. 638. Tischr. p. 24, 378, 401, 
613, 718, 783, seq., 777, seq. Seckend. lib. III., p. 640. Let. No. 
2322, 21. Ratzenberger's geh. Geschichte, &c, in Arnold's Kirchen- 
und Ketzerhistorie, vol. 4, p. 88. Seckend., p. 646. The Sermon of 
Dr. Jonas, Works, vol. 21, p. 707, seq. The letter of the elector of S. 
and the answer of count Albrecht, of Mansfeld, in Gcetzii tractat. de relig. 
Lutheri, also in Hoffmann, de funere acsepuloro Lutheri, p. 36, seq. 
The sermon of M. Coelius, Works, vol. 21, p. 699, seq. Corp. Ref. T. 
VI., p. 57, seq., 61 seq. The sermon of Bugenhagen, Works, vol. 21, 
p. 715, seq. Melanchthonis oratio funebris in the Corp. Reform. T 
XI., p. 726, seq. 

Notes. — 1.) Seckendorf, whom, as he relates according to a manu- 
script of Ratzenberger's, we have in other respects followed in the report 
concerning the Mansfeld negotiations, speaks only of two journeys of 
Luther into the Mansfeld territory, of that in October and the one to- 
wards the close of January, and seems not to have known anything of 
the one undertaken at Christmas ; it is fully established, however, 
through Luther's and Melanchthon's letters which are cited, and only 
through it is it understood how Luther came to preach at Halle on the 
festival of Epiphany. 

2. ) What Seckend. relates, p. 631, can namely be connected with 
this sermon only, although he does not expressly say that it was the 
last. 

3. ) This complaint was particularly directed against Dr. Melchior 
Kling, Prof, at Wittenberg, and the Mansfeld Counsellor, who also 
withdrew. Luther declared, that when he would return he would write 
a book against the silver and golden lawyers. See, in reference to this 
matter, Ratzenberger's letter as contained in Arnold's Kirchen- und 
Ketzer Historie, vol. 4, p. 88. Comp. Let. No. 2314. 

4. ) This sermon cannot have been delivered on the stated festival 
day itself, since the latter occurred on the 24th of February. It was, 
undoubtedly, delivered on the Sunday Septuagesima, the 14th February, 
for, according to the letter of Jonas to the elector, Luther preached every 
Sunday. Seckend. lib. III., p. 638. 

5. ) This has reference to pictures against the papacy, which Luther 
had published with the addition of remarks, and upon one of which the 
pope was represented as riding upon a hog. 

6. ) This report, which extends from Luther's departure to his burial, 
and gives a very detailed account of the last hours of his life, as well as 
of the funeral, closes with the words : " We, Dr. Justus Jonas, and 
Magister Michael Coelius, and John Aurifaber, Vinariensis, aforesaid, 
having been present at the happy death of our beloved father, from the 
beginning of his illness to his last breath, testify before God, and upon 



THE LAST YEARS OE LUTHEr's LIFE. 



683 



our final departure, and our consciences, that we, together with the 
princes,. counts, lords, and all that came in, did not hear or see anything 
here stated differently, and did not relate it otherwise than it all occurred 
and happened. May God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, grant 
us all his grace. Amen." How will the falsehoods and calumnies 
with which, especially after the precedence of a Cochlseus, Roman 
authors have, even after his death, assailed Luther, maintain themselves, 
in opposition to this testimony from approved eye witnesses? The 
honourable von Seckendorf and others have long since satisfactorily 
refuted them. 

7. ) Jonas further requested in his letter, that the Elector would de- 
spatch an especial letter of consolation to Luther's widow, as also to his 
Wittenberg friends, Melanchthon, Bugenhagen and Cruciger. That 
this was done, is testified by Seckendorf, lib. III., p, 647. Comp. Hoff- 
mann de fun. ac. sep., p. 48. 

8. ) The sermon found in the Works, vol. 21, p. 707, was delivered 
by Jonas seven weeks later, at Halle; it was, however, merely a repeti- 
tion of the one delivered at Eisleben. 

9. ) These, as the pastor Dr. Bugenhagen followed among the 
mourners, were the four deacons, M. Sebastian Frceschel, (comp. this 
work, p. 123,) M. Andreas, M. Gallus Marcellus Mceller and John 
Magius. 

10. ) Here he refers to the well-known prophecy of John Huss, 
and interprets it of Luther. The same is also done by Jonas, in 
his sermon. Comp. also Mathesius' Predigten uber Luther's Leben, 
Ite Predigt. 

11. ) In the other two funeral sermons there also is especial refer- 
ence to this saying of Luther's. 



THE END. 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 



Adrian VII., Pope, writes to the Elector 
of Saxony on account of Luther, 277. — 
Writes a second time to the Elector, 281. 
—Dies, 293. 

JEsop's Fables, jests concerning the same 
at Coburg, 397. 

Agricola, John, his errors cause Luther 
much regret, 530. — Asks for his dismis- 
sion, 530. 

Albert, Count of Mansfeld, visits Luther 
at Coburg, 4L2, 637. — Announces Lu- 
ther's death to the Elector, 662. 

Albert, Elector of Mayence and Arch- 
bishop of Magdeburg, hires Tetzel, 45. — 
Luther urges him to put a stop to Tet- 
zel's proceedings, 45. — Luther writes 
again to him, 55. — Luther's letter to the 
same, 130. — Luther calls upon him to 
do away with the idol at Halle, 220. — 
Luther exhorts him to marry, 318. — 
Luther writes again to him, and sends 
him an exposition of the second Psalm, 
405. — Is praised by Lemnius, 541. 

Aleander, papal nuncio, requests that no 
safe-conduct be allowed to Luther, and 
urges to have his books burnt, 185, &c. 

Alexius, Luther's friend, suddenly killed by 
lightning, 18. 

Altenburg, Luther there meets Miltitz, 
104.— Luther there, 413, 525. 

Alveld, Augustin von, writes against Lu- 
ther, 133. — Luther's answer or defence, 
134. 

Amsdorf, Nicholas von, accompanies Lu- 
ther to Worms, 191, 205. — Luther visits 
him from the Wartburg, 230. — Is ap- 
pointed bishop of Naumburg, 605. 

Anabaptists, Luther warns against them, 
453. 

Anhalt, prince of, invites Luther to visit 

him at Dessau, 136. 
Aristotle, Luther's opinion concerning his 

philosophy, 37. — Loses his influence at 

the university of Wittenberg, 38. 
Articles, the Marburg, 367. — The Torgau, 

384.— The Schmalkald, 510. 
Augsburg, Luther's journey there, 86. — 

Treaty between Cajetan and Luther 

there, 89. — Luther's departure from 

thence, 95— Diet there, 383. 
Augustin, Luther reads his writings, 27. — 

Lectures concerning him are read at the 

university of Wittenberg, 38. 
Augustinian Cloister, Luther enters the 

same at Erfurt, 16. — Enters that at 



Wittenberg, 27. — The same at Witten- 
berg is to be delivered up to the Elector, 
318. — The Elector presents the same to 
Luther, 322, Note 1. 

Bachelor, Luther becomes bachelor of 
philosophy, 16, Note 3.— Bachelor of 
theology, 28. 

Benno, bishop at Meissen, is pronounced a 
saint, 296. 

Berlepsch, Hans von, accompanied by 
Burckhard von Hund, takes Luther 
prisoner, and brings him to the Wart- 
burg, 210. — Entertains Luther very well, 
216. 

Bible, Luther first finds a Latin copy, 15. 
— Luther obtains one in the cloister, 21. 
— Is taken from him again, 23. — Luther 
begins to understand the same, 38. — 
Luther begins to translate it into Ger- 
man, 226. — The translation of the New 
Testament appears, 273. — The transla- 
tion of the Bible is completed, 479. — ■ 
Luther revises the same afresh, 586. 

Bibra, Laurentius von, his opinion con- 
cerning Luther, 67, Note 1. 

Billicanus, Theobald, is present at the 
Heidelberg Disputation, 66. 

Birthday, Luther's, 11, 12, Note 1. 

Bohemian Brethren, seek Luther's friend- 
ship, 126. — Luther's correspondence with 
them, 268. 

Books, Luther's opinion concerning his 
own, 583, &c. 

Bora, Catharine von, leaves the cloister at 
Nimptschen and comes to Wittenberg, 
289. — Becomes Luther's wife, 319. — 
Luther's opinion concerning her, 322. 

Borna, Luther preaches there, 259. 

Brentz, John, at the Heidelberg Disputa- 
tion, 66. 

Breve, papal, which condemned Luther, 
85. &c, 95, Note 3.— 96.— Breve to the 
Elector, to investigate Luther's affairs, 
103. 

Bucer, Martin, his first acquaintance with 
Luther, 66, «fcc. — Visits Luther in Co- 
burg, 389. — His conference with Luther 
at Gotha, 524, &c 

Bugenhagen, John, Luther temporarily 
occupies his pulpit, 529. — He preaches 
Luther's funeral sermon, 672. 

Bulls, against Luther, 99, 175, &c. — Lu- 
ther examines them, 177. — They are 
burnt by Luther, 180. 

685 



686 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 



is an- E 



Cajetan da Yio, Luther cited to appear 
before him. 55. — His conference with 
Luther at Augsburg. 5 5. Sec . 91, Sec, — 
Becomes enraged because Luther will 
not recant, 92. Sec. — Treats with Stau- 
pitz for him to persuade Luther to re- 
cant. 93. — Appears more friendly to- 
' Luther, 93.— Luther in a writing 

cant so soon as he is convinced of his 
error, 94. — Writes to the Elector con- 
cerning Luther. 96. 

CarUtadt, see KarlstadL 

C -r-ilo. WolrVang Fabric: us. Luther writes 
to him, 220. 

Casseh consultation of compromise there. 
498, &c 

Catechisms, Luther publishes them. 350. 

Charles V., Emperor of Germany, Lu- 
ther's letter to him. 129. — Commands 
the Elector to bring Luther with him to 
the Diet of Worms, 153.— Alters his 
irund. and commands that Luther shall 

l-i— Eis couiello^ldvisrTini "to 
cause Luther to be executed, and not 
alio v.- him a sale -conduct. 193. — H 

Luther with the ban and to condemn 
him as an outlaw, but to keep the pro- 
mise of safe-conduct, 202. — Luther 
writes to him aud the estates of the 
realm on his journey from Worms. 209. 

( id I Luther's, 323. 562. Sec.— Luther 
in the circle of his children, 564. Sec. 

Church., the commands of the, subordinate 
to the commands of God. 105. — Luther's 
v : gment concerning the Romish Church. 
109. — Whereby the Christian Church 
may be known, 552. — Which is the true 
ancient Church. 611. 

i it VII,, the Pope, 293, 457. 

Coat -of- Arms, Luther's, 415. 

Coburg, Luther's stay there during the 
Diet at Augsburg. 355. &c. — Luther is 
there engaged in translating the Bible. 
479, Seed 

Cochlaeus, John, Luther writes agahist 
him, 297. — Defends Duke George 
against Luther, 453. 

is, M. Michael, his funeral sermon of 
Luther, 666, &c. 

Cologne, the theological faculty there for- 
bids and burns Luther's books, 133. 

Confession, Luther writes concerning it. 
216. 

Consolatory Letters, Luther writes, 444, 

Sec., 447, Sec 
Council, Luther causes an appeal to a 

general council to be printed, 100, 103, 

Note 3. — Luther renews his appeal, 176. 

— Proceedings concerning a council, 



457, Sec. — At Mantua, 506. — Luther's 

treatise concerning councils. 549. Sec. — 

At Trent, 609. 
Concordia, the Wittenberg. 502. Szc. — 

Further particulars of the same, 617, <kc. 
Gotta, Luthers benefactress, 14, Note 3. 

Danger of life, Luther's imminent, in Er- 
fbrt, 15. — AJbo on his journev to Rome. 
30. 

Decretals, the Romish, are burned bv Lu- 
ther, ISO. 

Didymus. Gabriel, 255. 

Dietrich, Veit, Luther's contuaruori in Cc- 
burg, 357. — His report concerning: Lu- 
ther's prayers. 395. 

Disputation, Heidelberg, 65. — Leipzig. 
Ill, Sec. — Luther's, against the Antino- 
my! ans. 531. Sec. 

Doctor, of the Holv Scriptures. Luther be- 
comes, 33. 

Dresden. Luther preaches there. 42. 

Dressel. Michael, is exhorted by Luther, 
40. 

Dungersheim, Jerome von Oxenfarth, Lu- 
ther's strife with him. 126, 152, Note 4. 



Dr. John, writes against Luther. 75. 
— Luther's refutation. 75. — Challenges 
Luther to a disputation, 111. — His The- 
ses at the Leipzig disputation, 113. — 
Luther's Antitheses. 113. — Leads the 
cause of the Franciscan Monks against 
Luther, 123. — Luther replies to him, 
124, — Arrives with bulls against Luther, 
167. — Labours with Faber at the con- 
futation of the Augsburg Confession. 
411. 

Edict, imperial, against Luthers books 
and doctrines, 214. — Edict of Worms to 
be put into execution, 293, Arc. — Edict 
of Nuremburg, 294. 

Eisenach, Luther visits the schools there, 
13. — Luther becomes sick there, while 
on his journey to Worms, 190. 

Eisleben, Luther born there, 11, 12. Note 
3. — Luther there, 641, .Sec — Luther 
preaches there, 643, Sac. — Dies there, 
661. — His corpse is taken from there. 
669. 

Elizabeth, queen of Denmark, embraces 
Luther's doctrines, 292. Note 1. 

E/nser, Jerome, Luther's opponent, strife 
between them, 124, Sac. — Writes against 
Luther's treatise: to the Christian No- 
bility, 155. — The correspondence grow- 
ing out of the same. 192, Note 1. 

Erasmus, of Rotterdam, promotes the 
study of the Latin and Greek languages 
by his writings, 36. — Luther is dissatis- 
fied with him, 37. — Speaks favourably 
of Luther at first, 137, Sec. — Luther's 
opinion of him. 297. — He writes against 



INDEX OP SUBJECTS. 



687 



Luther, 299. — Luther declines writing 
further against him, 486. 

Erfurt, Luther studies there, 14. — Luther 
tarries there on his return from the 
Wartburg, 241. — Luther fears disturb- 
ances there, 258. — Luther on that ac- 
count travels there, 259. 

Erich, duke of Brunswick, at Worms, 
sends Luther a tankard of beer, 202. 

Esch, John, burnt at Brussels, 283. 

Excommunication, Luther expects the 
same to be pronounced against him, 99 

Feldkirchen, Bartholomew M., his dispu- 
tation against the theology of the schools, 
37, &c. — Writes for Luther against Al- 
veld, 137. — Luther approves of his mar- 
riage, 222. 

Fleck, Dr., his joy at Luther's 95 Theses, 
writes to Luther, 61. 

Frankfort, convention at, 548. 

Franciscans, compose theses at Jiiterbok 
against Luther, 123. — Luther answers 
them, 124. — See also under Eck. 

Freundberg, George von, his words to Lu- 
ther at the Diet of Worms, 195. 

Frederick the Wise, Elector, pays the ex- 
penses for Luther's promotion to the 
Doctorate, 33. — Is suspected as the 
leader of the strife against Indulgences, 
Luther's grief thereat, 64. — Uses his in- 
fluence for Luther with the emperor and 
the papal legate, 83. — Commends Lu- 
ther to the safe-keeping of the Council 
of Augsburg, that no harm may overtake 
him there, 84. — Luther writes to him 
the history of the proceedings with Ca- 
jetan and defends himself against his 
accusations, 97. — Advises Luther not to 
go to France, 100. — Writes to Cajetan 
and defends Luther, 100. — Becomes 
vicar of the imperial realm, 109. — His 
opinion concerning Luther's cause, 138. 
— Luther offers to him to defend himself 
at the Diet, 185. — Reports to Luther at 
the Wartburg how matters stand at 
Wittenberg, 236. — Luther writes to him, 
that he has left the Wartburg without 
his permission, 239. — Dies, 314. — Be- 
queaths Luther cloth for a garment, 317. 

George, duke of Saxony, hears Luther 
preach, 42. — Carries on the Leipzig dis- 
putation, 112. — Accuses Luther of the 
Bohemian heresy, 127. — Luther's strife 
with him, 264. — Issues a mandate 
against Luther's translation of the New 
Testament, 274. — Luther writes an 
humble letter to him, 329. — Luther gets 
into new difficulties with him, 331. — 
He praises one of Luther's treatises, 332. 
— He writes a preface to Emser's New 
Testament, 372, 383, Note 2.— Causes 



a " Defence concerning the League of 
Mayence" to be printed, and complains 
of Luther, 373 — Complains to the Elec- 
tor concerning two treatises of Luther's, 
427. — Complains a second time to the 
Elector concerning Luther, 448. — He 
dies 554. 

Gotha, Luther at, 523, &c. 

Grumbach, Argula von, parental name 
Staufen, 318, 322, Note 3. 

Guenther, Francis M., his disputation 
against the theology of the schools, 39. 

Hagenau, convention there, 597. 

Halle, Luther at, 639. — Luther's corpse 

arrives there, 669. 
Hausraann, Nicholas, pastor at Zwickau, 

is dismissed by the city counsel from his 

pastorate, 438. — Dies, 629. 
Heidelberg, Luther's journey thence, 64. 

Luther's disputation there, 65. 
Henry, Duke of Saxony, Duke George's 

successor, 554. 
Henry VIII., King of England, writes 

against Luther. Luther's dispute with 

him, 265. — Luther seeks a reconciliation 

with him, 328. 
Hervord, the brethren and sisters of, the 

community there, 435. 
Hochstraten, Jacob von, writes against 

Luther, 77. — Luther's answer to his 

writing, 77. 
Hutten, Ulrich von, writes to Luther, 140. 

— Sends Luther two consoling letters, 

196. 

Hymns, spiritual, Luther publishes some 
of them, 324. — Luther's first attempts 
at, 333, Note 2. — Luther publishes an- 
other edition of, 458. 

Illness, Luther's, at the Wartburg, 216. — 
Luther's illness in the year 1527, 335. — 
Also at Coburg, 387, 393.— The same 
in the year 1532, 443, &c— Luther's ill- 
ness in Schmalkalden, 516, &c — Again, 
542, 629.— Luther's last illness, 658. 

Indulgences, exposed for sale by Tetzel, 

43. — Luther preaches against the same, 

44. — Luther's dispute against the same, 
49. — Luther's judgment and decision of 
the same, 45, et seq. 

Jena, Luther stops there on his return 
from the Wartburg and lodges at the 
hotel called the Black Bear, 241, &c. — 
Luther preached there against the fana- 
tics, 300. 

John, the Constant, Elector of Saxony, 
Luther beseeches him to protect the 
pastorates, 346. — Luther persuades him 
against forming a league to protect reli- 
gion, 380, 381. — Luther's consoling letter 
to him at the Diet at Augsburg, 399. — 



688 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS, 



Luther consoles him on account of the 
prohibition of preaching in Augsburg, 
406. — Departs from Augsburg, 412. — 
Dies, 439, &c. 
John Frederick, Elector of Saxony, visits 
Luther in Coburg, 412. — Dispute be- 
tween him and Duke Moritz, 605. — His 
letter concerning Luther's death, 666, 

Jonas, Dr. Justus, accompanies Luther to 
Worms, 192. — Informs Luther of the 
reading of the confession at Augsburg. 
402. — His wife dies, 633. — Luther at his 
house, 639. — Journeys with Luther to 
Eisleben, 641. — Informs the Elector of 
Luther's death, 670. — Preaches Luther's 
funeral sermon at Eisleben, 665. 

Jurisprudence, Luther studies, 16. 

Kaiser, Leonhard, Luther sends him a 
consoling letter, 333. — Is burnt, 334. 

Karlstadt, his participation in the Leipzig 
disputation, 111. — Description of his per- 
son, 116. — Causes disorders at Witten- 
berg, 230. — Goes to Orlamunda, 300. — 
His conference with Luther in Jena, 
300. — Goes to Strasburg, 302. 

Kranz, Dr. Albert, his fears for Luther's 
safety on account of the 95 Theses, 62. 

Leipzig, disputation there, 111, &c. — 
Duke George persecutes the Lutherans 
there, 447-451. — Luther preaches there 
on the day of pentecost, 555, 557. 

Lemnius, Simon, 541. 

Leo X., Pope, Luther's letter to him, 67. — 
Commands the Elector to deliver up Lu- 
ther, 86, &c — Luther's humble letter to 
him, 106. — Luther dedicates his treatise 
on Christian Freedom to him, 167, Sec. 

Licentiate of Theology, Luther becomes a, 
32, Sec. 

Link, Dr. Wenceslaus, accompanies Lu- 
ther to Cardinal Cajetan, 88. 

Louvaine, the theological faculty there 
forbids and burns Luther's books, 133. — 
Luther writes against the theologians of, 
627. 

Lonicerus, John, Luther's amanuensis, 
writes in Luther's stead against Alveld, 
134. 

Luther, Hans, (John), Luther's father, 11. 
— Is displeased with Luther, because he 
enters the cloister, 17. — Is present at 
Luther's installation as priest, 22. — 
Dies, 387. 

Luther, Margaret, Luther's mother, 11. — 
Her illness and death, 438. 

Magdalena, Luther's daughter, dies, 631. 
Magdeburg, Luther visits the Latin school 
there, 13. 

Maltitz, John von, Bishop of Meissen, 558. 



] Mantua, council of, 506, 513. 
Mansfeld, Luther's parents remove there.. 
11. — Disputes about the mines there ; 
637, Sec. 

Marburg, colloquium there, 364, Sec. — 
Luther relates the result of the same. 
368. 

Marriage, Luther's, 318, Sec. — Melanch- 
thon's opinion concerning the same, o21 
' Matrimonial state, Luther's opinion con- 
cerning the same, 561. 
| Maximilian, German Emperor, his opinion 
concerning Luther, 64. — Writes to the 
Pope on Luther's account, 83. — His 
death, 109. 

Meilius, Crato. imperial abbot of the Bene- 
dictine Cloister of Hersfeid, receives Lu- 
ther very graciously on his return 
journey from Worms, 209, Sec. 

Melanchthon, Philip, Luther's opinion of 
him, 102, 103, Note 4.— Writes a de- 
fence of Luther against Thomas Rha- 
dinus, 137. — He with others request 
Luther to return from the Wartburg. 
235. — Luther consoles him to take 
courage at the Diet of Augsburg, 401. — 
Reports to Luther the delivery of the 
Confession at Augsburg, 402. — Luther's 
letter of consolation to him at Angsbnrpr. 
403, Sec— Travels to Cassel, 4u9.— 
Travels to Hagenau, 596. — Is taken 
sick at Weimar, 596. — Informs the stu- 
dents of Luther's death, 670, &c. — His 
funeral sermon of Luther, 676. 

Mellerstadt, Dr. Martin, his opinion of Lu- 
ther, 28. 

Miltitz, Carl von, brings the Elector a 
consecrated rose from the Pope, 103 — 
His meeting with Luther at Altenburg. 
104. — Agrees with Luther concerning 
two articles of faith, 105. — Appears 
friendly disposed towards Luther, 105, 
&c. — Is severe against Tetzel at Leip- 
zig, 106. — Orders Luther to appear at 
Coblentz for examination, 110. — Seeks 
counsel from the convent of the Augus- 
tines at Eisleben how Luther could be 
silenced, 166. — Calls Luther to Lichten- 
berg, to urge him to write to the Pope, 
167. 

Monastic Property, the Regent of the 
land should take possession of the same, 
434. 

Monk, Luther a pious, 23. — The monks 
leave the cloisters, 257, &,c. 

Moritz i (Maurice), Duke of Saxony, 605. 

Mosellanus, Peter, his account of the Dis- 
putation at Leipzig, 116. 

Muhlhausen, Luther warns the town 
council and the congregation there 
against the fanaticism of Thomas Miin- 
zer, 306. 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 



689 



Munster, Luther writes to the town coun- 
cil there, 454. 

Munzer, Thomas, 306. — Writes against 
Luther, 307. 

Music, Luther was restored from a swoon 
by the same, 27, Note 1. — Luther prizes 
it highly, 460, &c. — Luther's eulogium 
of the same, 462, &c. 

Myconius, Frederick, Luther treats with 
him concerning his burial, 524. — Is sick, 
629. — Snares are laid against Luther, 
110, 153, Note 9.— Also 316, &c. 

Name, Luther's, 12, Note 2. — Luther as 
monk alters his baptismal name, 17. 

Nuns, nine nuns are brought out of the 
cloister at Nimptschen to Wittenberg 
through Luther's instrumentality, 289. 

Nuremberg, Diet of, 277. — Dissensions 
among the preachers of, 455, &c. 

Ochsenfarth, see Diingersheim. 

(Ecolampadius, writes in defence of Luther 
against Eck, 137. — The Suabian theo- 
logians write against him, 354. — He 
writes against Luther, 360. 

Orlamunde, is tainted with the fanaticism 
of Karlstadt, 301, &c. — Luther there, 
302. 

Pack, Otto von, informs the Landgrave of 
Hesse of a league formed against him 
and the Elector of Saxony, 370. 

Patmos, so Luther calls the Wartburg, 214. 

Paul III., Pope, 490. — Orders a council 
to be held at Mantua, 506. 

Peasants' Insurrection, 307. — Luther per- 
sonally strives to allay the same, 313. 

Persecutions, against the followers of the 
pure Gospel, 283. — At Augsburg, 285. — 
At Miltenberg, 286. 

Pestilence, in Wittenberg, 42.-343.-493. 

Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, first becomes 
acquainted with Luther in Worms, 192. 
— Brings about the Marburg Colloquium, 
362. — Luther admonishes him to be on 
his guard against the Sacramentarians, 
400, &c. — Secretly departs from the 
Diet of Augsburg, 410. — Is anxious for 
unity with regard to the Sacrament, 498. 
— His message to Luther concerning a 
second marriage, 591, &c. — Luther 
warns against the deliberations on that 
subject, 599, &c. 

Pitards, see Bohemian brethren. 

Planitz, John von der, electoral ambassa- 
dor, advises the Elector to remove Lu- 
ther from Wittenberg, 281. 

Postil, Luther's, 219. 

Prayer, Luther's diligence in, 14. — Luther 
speaks of its virtue and exhorts thereto, 
464. — Luther's last prayer, 655. 

Preaching, Luther preaches at Witten- 

44 



berg, 29.— At Dresden, 42.— At Wei- 
mar, 86. — At Wittenberg to the exiled 
citizens of Leipzig, 468, &c. — Luther's 
opinion concerning preaching, 570. 

Prierius, Sylvester, writes against Luther, 
75. — Luther answers him, 76, &c. — Is 
selected by the Pope to act as judge in 
Luther's cause in company with Jerome 
de Genutis, 80.. 

Priest, an aged, consoles Luther, 15. — 
Luther becomes a priest, 22. 

Purgatory, Luther's early views concern- 
ing it, 70, 108. 

Regius, Urbanus, visits Luther in Coburg, 
his opinion of Luther, 389. 

Reinecke, John, Luther's school com- 
panion, 13. — Dies, 629. 

Repentance, What it is, 68. 

Reuchlin, John, his dispute with Pfeffer- 
korn and the grand inquisitors at Co- 
logne, 36. 

Richard, Archbishop of Treves, appointed 

to examine Luther at Colberg, 110. — 

Treats with Luther at the Diet of 

Worms, 202, &c. 
Ring, a, is presented to Luther by Duke 

John Frederick, 412, 415. 
Rome, Luther's journey there, 30. — Luther 

is appointed to appear there before his 

judges, 80. 
Roth, Stephen, secretary to the city of 

Zwickau, Luther writes to him, 436. 
Rothmann, Bernhard. pastor at Munster, 

455. 

Sacramentarians, 300. — Luther writes 
against them, 356. — They boast of hav- 
ing defeated Luther at Marburg, 369. — 
Luther is compelled once more to write 
against them, 617. — They clandestinely 
gain a foothold in Italy, 623. — Luther's 
last opinion concerning them, 624. 

Sacramental Disputes, 495, &c. 

Saints, concerning their merits, 70. — Lu- 
ther's earlier opinions concerning them. 
107. 

Schauenburg, Sylvester von, writes to 
Luther, 140. 

Schleinitz, John von, Bishop of Meissen, 
sends forth an epistle addressed to Lu- 
ther, 131. — Luther answers him, 131. 

Schlick, Sebastian, 270, 454. 

Schmalkalden, Luther journeys thither, 
512. — Convention there, 595. 

Schnepf, Erhard, is present at the Heidel- 
berg disputation, 66. 

School Divines, (Scholastics), Luther stu- 
dies them, 23, 27. 

Schurf, Dr. Jerome, is Luther's counsellor 
at the Diet of Worms, 195, 205. 

Schweinfurt, convention there, 431. 

Scultetus, Jerome, requests Luther to post- 



690 



INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 



pone the publication of his Probationes, 
63. — Luther's answer to him on that ac- 
count, 67. — His meeting with Luther in 
Wittenberg, 110. 
Sieberger, Wolfgang, Luther's servant, 
568, 569. 

Spalatin, George, warns Luther not to go 
to Worms, 191. — Luther visits him, 525. 

Spengler, Lazarus, his defensory speech 
for Luther, 136. 

Spenlein, George, is directed by Luther to 
the righteousness of Christ, 34, &c. 

Spires, Diet there, 379. 

Spiritual Trials, Luther's, in the cloister, 
24. — Luther is comforted under the 
same, by Staupitz, and an aged brother 
of the cloister, 25. — Luther's trials at 
the Wartburg, 217. — Luther's trials, de- 
scribed by Bugenhagen and Justus Jo- 
nas, 335. — Luther's trials in Coburg, 
388. 

Staufen, Argula von, see Grumbach. 

Staupitz, Dr. John, Luther's provincial, 
(of his order), intercedes for Luther, 21. 
— Consoles Luther, 25. — Procures Lu- 
ther's election to the university of Wit- 
tenberg, 27. — Admonishes him to preach, 
28, &c. — Determines to advance Luther 
as Doctor of the Holy Scriptures, 32. — 
Luther writes to him, 67. — Urges Spa- 
latin to pray for the Evangelical cause, 
84. — Invites Luther to come and dwell 
with him, 85. — Uses his influence with 
Cajetan, that Luther may defend him- 
self in writing, 90, &c. — Absolves Lu- 
ther from obedience to his order, 96, 
Note 6. 

Strasburg, Luther warns its inhabitants 

against Karlstadt, 302. 
Students, the Wittenberg, burn Tetzel's 

anti-theses, 73.— The students of Erfurt 

destroy the bulls against Luther, 176. 
Stubner, Marcus, a fanatic of Zwickau, 

231. — Luther's interview with him at 

Wittenberg, 254. 
Sturm, Caspar, imperial herald of honour, 

conducts Luther to Worms, 189. 
Suss, Laurence, Luther's room-mate 16, 

Note 2. — Journeys with Luther through 

the fields, 141. 

Table-Talk, Luther's, 571, &c.— Luther's 
last, 649, &c. 

Tetzel, John, offers indulgences for sale, 
43, &c. — Issues anti-theses against Lu- 
ther's Theses, 73. — Is charged by Mil- 
titz with deception, 106. — Luther pities 
him on that account, 106, &c. 

Theology, German, Luther publishes the 
same, and his opinion concerning it, 38. 

Theology of the Schools, Luther contends 
against the same, 35, &c. 

Theses, Luthor's Ninety-five, 49. &c— 



Reception of the same, 61, &c. — Are 
often printed and circulated, 62. — Fur- 
ther exposition and adoption of the same, 
called Probationes or Resolutions, 63, 
&c. — Theses belonging to the Heidel- 
berg Disputation, 65. — Luther sends the 
Probationes of the 95 Theses to the 
Bishop of Brandenburg and to Pope Leo 
X., 67. — Theses of the Leipzig Disputa- 
tion, 113. — Theses of the Franciscans 
against Luther, 123. 

Torgau, Luther preaches there, 384, 414. 

Truttvetier, Magister Jodicus, Luther's 
preceptor in Erfurt, 16, Note 1. 

Turks, the, threaten to make war with 
Germany, 374, &c. — Luther writes a 
sermon to the army against them, 378. 
— Luther's exhortation to prayer against 
them, 615, &c. 

University, at Wittenberg, instituted, 27. 
— Luther is appointed there, 28. — The 
faculty of the same writes to the Pope 
in favour of Luther's cause, 84. — Uses 
its influence for Luther with the Elector, 
99. — The university is in a flourishing 
condition, 102. — Is removed to Jena on 
account of the plague, 343. 

Urbanus, orator to the Margrave of Mont- 
serat, his colloquy with Luther at 
Augsburg, 87, &c. 

Usingen, Dr., Luther's preceptor, warns 
him against the Bible, 22. 

Venetus, Gabriel, seeks to quiet and si- 
lence Luther, 80. 

Vergerius, Paul, papal legate, Luther's 
transactions with him, 491, &c. 

Visitation, Luther's, of the Augustinian 
Cloisters, 40. — In the Electorate of Sax- 
ony, 348. — Luther takes part personally 
in the same, 350. — In the dukedom of 
Saxony, 558. 

Vocs, Henry, burnt in Brussels, 283. 

Walther, John, electoral chaplain, his 
opinion concerning Luther, 459. 

War, Luther's opinion concerning, 545, &c. 

Wartburg, Luther taken captive 
brought there, 210. — Luther leaves the 
same for a short time, 229, &c. — Luther 
returns from the Wartburg to Witten- 
berg, 245, &c. 

Weimar, Luther preaches there, 86, 260, 
513. — Melanchthon is taken sick there, 
596. — Luther, accompanied by Kreutzi- 
ger, journeys thero, 596. 

Will, Luther's, 633. 

Wimpina, Dr. Conrad, composes anti- 
theses for Tetzel against Luther, 73. 

Wit h'nberg, university founded there, 27. 
— Luther preaches there in the parish 
church, 29- — The pestilence rages there, 



INDEX OF THE WORKS OF LUTHER. 691 



42. — Luther posts up the 95 Theses 
upon the court chapel there, 49, &.c. — 
Luther appears there again after his 
abode at the Wartburg. He preaches 
for eight successive days, 245, &c. — 
Fears of the pestilence there, 493. — 
Union is effected there, 502, &c. — Fa- 
mine there, 559. — Luther intends to 
leave Wittenberg, 635. — Luther's corpse 
arrives there, 671. 

Wolfgang, Elector-palatinate, hospitably 
receives Luther at Heidelberg, 65. — His 
testimony concerning Luther, 66. 

Works, good, what value Luther lays upon 
them, 108. 

Worms, Luther's journey there, 190. — 
Luther's arrival there, 191. — Transac- 



tions at the Diet of Worms, 193, &c. — 
Luther's departure from Worms, 208. — 
Colloquium at Worms, 597. 
Wurzen, dispute concerning the sovereign- 
ty of this city, 605. 

Zutphen, Henry von, martyr to the Gos- 
pel, 285. 

Zwickau, d : sturbanqes at, 231, &c. — Lu- 
ther journeys there to quiet the disturb- 
ances, 259, &c — The treatment which 
the divines of that city received from the 
town council displeases Luther, 436. 

Zwingli, Ulrich, writes to Luther, 360.—- 
Writes against Luther, 360. — Luther's 
opinion concerning his death, 457, 
Note 2. 



INDEX 

OF THE WORKS OF LUTHER MENTIONED IN THIS VOLUME. 

In the year 1517. 

Exposition of the seven penitential Psalms, page 42. 
Exposition of the ten commandments, 43. 
The 95 Theses, 49. 

Sermon concerning Indulgences and Grace, 56. 

In the year 1518. 

The Theses and Probationary Articles of the Heidelberg Disputation, 65. 

Exposition and proof of the 95 Theses, (resolutiones or probationes), 67. 

Defence of Luther's sermon concerning Indulgences and Grace, 74. 

Two Treatises against Sylvester Prierias, 76, 

Treatise against Jacob von Hochstraten, 77. 

Treatise against Dr. Eck, called Asterisci, 78. 

Sermon on the power of the Ban, 81. 

Comment on the Papal Breve, 96. 

Appeal to a future general council, 100. 

Sermon concerning the sacrament of Penance, 103, Note 3. 

In the year 1519. 

Instruction concerning several points about which his opponents charged him with and 

ascribed to him, 107. 
Theses belonging to the Leipzig Disputation, 113. 
Proofs of the Theses of Disputation of Leipzig, 122. 
Resolution concerning the 13th Thesis of the same, 123, Note 1. 
Defence against Eck's wicked sentence, &c, 124, 152. 
Answer to Emser's silly blunder, C33otf)> 125. 

Sermon concerning the highly revered sacrament of the true body of Christ, l26. 
Labours appertaining to the Psalms, 153. 
-Exposition of the Epistle to the Galatians, 155. 

In the year 1520. 

Explanation of some points of the Sermon concerning the highly revered sacrament, 127. 
Answer to the placard, issued under the seal of the Official at Stolpen, 131. 
Treatise against the Cologne and Louvaine Theologians, 133. 
Of the Papacy at Rome, against the notorious Romanist at Leipzig, 134. 



692 



INDEX OF THE WORKS OF LUTHER. 



To the Christian nobility of Germany, concerning the reformation of the Christian 
Church, 141. 

A Consoling Book in every Adversity for all faithful Christians, 156. 
Book concerning Confession, 157. 
Of Good Works, 157. 

Short form for contemplating the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord's 

Prayer, 158. 
Of Christian Freedom, 159, 167. 
Of the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, 172. 
Concerning the new bulls and falsehoods of Eck, 177. 
Against the bulls of Antichrist, 178. 

Arguments in support of all the Articles unjustly condemned by the Romish Bulls, 180. 
Why the books of the Pope and his disciples have been burnt, 181. 

In the year 1521. 

Postil or Explanation of the Epistles and Gospels, 187. 
German Exposition of the Magnificat, 187. 
Instruction for Penitents concerning his prohibited books, 188. 
Exposition of the 68th Psalm, 218. 

Concerning Confession : whether the Pope is authorized to enjoin it, 218 

Gospel of the ten Lepers, 219. 

Church-Postil from Advent to Epiphany, 219. 

Exposition of the 30th Psalm, 228. 

In the year 1522. 

Concerning the abuse of the Masr, 221. 
Concerning spiritual and monastic Vows, 222. 
Against the Innovations of Karlstadt, 233. 

Eight Sermons delivered after his return from his Patmos to Wittenberg, 245. 
Of the Saints, 258. 

A Consoling Missive to all those who suffer persecution on account of God's Word, 260. 

Answer to Henry VIII., King of England's Book directed against his Tract, concern- 
ing the Babylonian Captivity, 265. 

Bulla Coena Domini, i. e , the Pope's Bulls concerning the unworthy eating of the 
Lord's Supper on Maundy-Thursday, translated, 270. 

Faithful exhortation to all Christians, to avoid insurrection and rebellion, 270. 

Treatise cautioning against the doctrines of men, with an answer to the Proverbs put 
forth to fortify the same, 272. 

Opinion concerning the Sacrament to be received in both forms, and other innova- 
tions, 272. 

Against the falsely-applied spiritual dignity of the Pope and the Bishops, 272. 

In the year 1523. 

Treatise concerning Temporal Authority, how far we are bound to yield obedience to 
the same, 274. 

Declaration to the assembled state of the empire, against the perversions and miscon- 
structions of the imperial mandate, 279. 
Epistle to the Christians in Holland and Brabant, 284. 

To the Nobles of the German Order, advising them to avoid false chastity, and to 

strive after the right chastity of the wedded state, 288. 
Reason and Answer why young women may of divine right quit the monasteries, 289. 
Against the armed man Cochleus, an answer concerning faith and works, 297 
A form, to hold Christian Mass, and how to go to the Lord's Table, 324. 

In the year 1524. 

Two imperial Edicts, discordant and contradictory, relating to Luther, 294. 
Against the new idol and old devil, who is to be exalted at Meissen, 296. 
To the burgomasters and magistrates of all the cities of Germany, urging thom to 
erect and uphold Christian schools, 325. 

In the year 1525. 

That Free-will is nothing, 299. 
Against the Heavenly Prophets, 303. 



INDEX OF THE WORKS OF LUTHER. 



693 



Concerning Karlstadt's Book, in which he seeks to free himself from the charge of 
insurrections, 306. 

Relating to Karlstadt, together with Karlstadt's explanation as to how he wishes to be 
understood in his doctrine of the Sacrament, and other things, and what he wishes 
others to believe relating to it, 306. 

Compact between the Suabian League and the Peasants, 307. 

Exhortation to peace, based upon the twelve articles of the peasantry in Suabia, 308. 

Against the rapacious and murderous Peasants, 312. 

An Epistle concerning the severe book against the Peasants, 315. 

Opinion how the present Insurrection may be suppressed, 316. 

In the year 1526. 
German Mass and Order of Divine Worship, 324. 

The Book of Deuteronomy, corrected from the Hebrew, with Notes, 331. 
Explanations to the Book of Exodns, from Chap. I.-XIX., 331. 
Exposition of the prophet Habakkuk, 331. 

Exposition of the four Consolatory Psalms, (XXXVIII., LXIL, XCIV., CIX.), 332. 
Whether military men can be in a state of grace, 332. 

In the year 1527. 
An explicit report of Leonhard Kaiser's martyrdom, 333. 

A Consolatory Treatise to the Christians at Halle, on account of the death of their 

pastor, George Winckler, of Bischopswerda, 334. 
Answer to the question: Whether we should flee from death ? 343. 
That the words of Christ: " This is my body," still remain steadfast, against the 

fanatics, 356. 

In the year 1528. 
Confession of the Lord's Supper, 360. 

In the year 1529. 
Enchyridion, or Smaller Catechism for pastors and preachers, 350. 
Of secretly-purloined Letters, together with Exposition of the 7th Psalm, against 

Duke George of Saxony, 373. 
Of the War against the Turks, 374. 
Camp-Sermon against the Turks, 378. 

In the year 1530. 
Admonition to the Clergy assembled at the Diet of Augsburg, 389 
Sermon to Pastors, urging them to exhort the people to send their children to 
school, 394. 

Exhortation to partake of the Sacrament of the body and blood of our Lord, 395. 

Recantation of Purgatory, 396. 

Of the Keys, 396. 

Epistle on Translation, 396, 480. 

Of Intercession of the Saints, 396. 

In the year 1531. 
Warning to his dear Germans, 420. 

In relation to the expected Imperial Edict, after the Diet of 1530, 423. 
Against the Libeller at Dresden, 425. 

In the year 1532. 

Consolatory Letter to the exiled citizens of Leipzig on account of their adherence to 

the Gospel, 447. 
Concerning the Sneaking and Clandestine preachers, 453. 

In the year 1533. 
Vindication of the falsely-accused tumult of Duke George, 448. 

Cousolatory Letter to the Christians driven into exile from Leipzig by Duke George, 451. 

Short Answer to Duke George's next Book, 453. 

Spiritual Songs, newly revised and improved, 458. 

Summary of the Psalms, and Reasons for their Translation, 484. 



694 



INDEX OF THE WORKS . OF LUTHER. 



Cautionary ■ Treatise to the Christians at Frankfort on the Maine, to be on their guard 
against the Zwinglian doctrines and teachers, together with a short Instruction of 
Confession, 497. 

Of private masses and consecration of priests, 497. 

In the year 1534. 

Instruction how to pray, 465. 

Bible, i. e., the complete Holy Scriptures in German, 486. 

To an intimate friend concerning his book about Private Masses, 493. 

In the year 1535. 

Several Proverbs against the Council of Constance, 493. 
Convocation of a Free Christian Council, 493. 

In the year 1538. 

Against the Antinomiaus, 538. 

Annotations concerning several chapters of Matthew, 584. 
Exposition of the Song of Solomon, 585. 
Exposition of the 2d, 14th, 15th, 16th Chapters of John, 585. 
Exposition of the 51st Psalm, 585. 

The three Symbols or Confessions of the Christian Faith, 586. 

In the year 1539. 

To all Pastors in Christ, who love the Gospel, 547. 
Of the Councils and the Church, 549. 

In the year 1541. 

Against Jack Cade, (Duke Henry of Brunswick,) 610. 
Exhortation to Prayer, against the Turks, 615. 

In the year 1542. 

Brother Richard's edition of the Alcoran Germanized, with a Caution and Warning 
appended, 615. 

In the year 1543. 

Concerning the Jews and their Falsehoods, 616. 

Of Shem-Hamphoras and of the Genealogy of Christ, 617. 

In the year 1544, 

Short Confession of the Holy Sacrament against the Fanatics, 622. 

In the year 1545. 

Against the Papacy at Rome, instituted by the devil, 625. 
Againet the 32 Articles of the Theologians at Louvaine, 627. 



DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER FOR PLACING 



THE PORTRAITS. 

Luther, as Preacher, after an original painting of Lucas Cranach, hanging in 

the Saloon of the Consistory, at Dresden, to face the Title. ... 1 

Philip Melanchthon, to face page 103 

Luther burns the Bulls and Decrees, after Berendt 180 

Luther at the Diet of Worms, by the same 196 

The Wartburg in Luther's Times. . • . . . . . . 214 

Frederick the ,Wise, Elector of Saxony. 314 

Catharine von Bora. . . 320 

Luther's Father. ..... 388 

Luther's Mother. . . . .438 

The Elector John the Constant 440 

Tho Elector Frederick the Maguanimous. 512 

George Spalatin. . ......... 524 

Frederick Mathesius. . • 572 

Magdalena Luther. 632 

Justas Jonas. 662 

Dr. John Bugenhagen. 672 



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